Did you have a serving hatch

Yes we had a serving hatch
a hole in the wall between kitchen and dining room
for effective meal delivery, a
portal architecturally
known as a passthrough and

Great fun to climb through as a child
Maybe once as a bored adult when
no one was home

See also climbing over the baluster at the top of the stairs
and jumping onto the landing without bashing your head against
the wall or breaking an ankle
You had to make your own entertainment

But to return to the serving hatch
a feature particularly associated with the 1970s
along with the hostess trolley

Ours didn't have windows
or doors you could close
so when I was making
coffee in the kitchen that morning
I couldn't help but see
the shape
of the body
of my father
through the hatch
in the hospital bed
in the back room
where he spent his final night

Yes we had a serving hatch