she dressed in front of him but
he was not allowed to touch
the softness she teased him with.
2.
she put her life on the line
for him and all he could do
was complain about dinner.
3.
she never lived on my side of
the street and never wanted to,
but she wanted me to always
visit her side when requested.
4.
what price do we pay for longevity
when the cost of affection weighs
heavily and we are only loved
for our absolute weight in gold.
5.
she was so nice this weekend
then the phone rang and she
came back into my space
having lost her temperament.
6.
how often must my niceness
be rejected before my failed
attempts equal all of yours?
how much will it cost us
to even consider to rebuild
what we know will falter?
after the paper is signed
you and I bye,
we pack our clothes
one by one in suitcase boxes
borrowed from the liquor store;
from off the wall
our beauty is removed
and marked for sale while
some are packed...
Is this yours or mine?
and the cookbooks packed away
and cups and saucers
dishes, pots and pans
and the good china we used
only on Christmas Day,
and our special occasions that
consumed too much wine;
Is this yours or mine?
these memories and gifts
this offer to reconciliate
all tried before...
three times so far...
so why again, I ask you sir?
8.
this night is mine
its sounds pierce my ears
like a thousand drums
pounding and beating
in the heat of sweat palms
and all dripping down
inside my new shirt.
9.
out on the deck we sit
I in one corner
you in another;
forty hours went into
its construction and
we will only walk once
across its new boards;
it's wood treated for
the weather and nailed
together like we were,
and are still and as
ever will be or so we say;
not quite two and twenty
then and now
as old as it took it to build
this this we now share
on opposite ends of it.
10.
her time was spent
mending and reading
and puzzling while
he spent his time in
quiet obedience too.
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