SWMBO

Back to me as I entered,
thirsty for the citrus punch
she always had on hand,
his mother washed dishes
singing softly something like beautiful.

My footfalls ticked off the tiles
and her head lilted left.

She said, "Hello,"
chiding my unannounced presence with
a scrunch of the eyes and a smile over her shoulder
uncovered by a tank top
empty airspace where locks had lived
for my lifetime.
I noticed earrings
dangling like razor slash
and wondered why she'd shaved her head.

The clarity of hindsight
means missing the meaning of that moment
until the e-mail

from her son.

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