Washing Up
The yellow marigold gloves
are slightly too large,
one of the compromises
that make up a marriage,
like meeting his mates
or taking a call
when you’re washing up
and he’s reading the Sunday papers
or asking who it was
when you’re not interested,
watching the dog chase squirrels
through the kitchen window
hearing a chair scrape
as he clears a space
and says it was the girl
he’s been seeing for the last two years
not breaking the rhythm
plate, cup and saucer,
while he tells you of the guilt,
white plates, yellow gloves,
how he needs forgiveness,
the rhythm of the gloves,
I’ll be keeping the dog
breaking more than silence.
Page(s) 34
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