Inspired by Jen Currin's "The Story of the Rifle."
In the life that could have been
If not for an innocent question
Their time together was brief,
but still he asked the question:
“Will you marry me?”
A well-attended marriage, happy
until the moment
when she slapped him for his
thoughtlessness
“I’ve told you before,” she said
with a scowl, holding a spatula.
“I’ve never liked curry, and I
never will.”
At work they scoffed at his eye,
blood-red from a burst vessel
“Take it easy in football,” they
said. He only smiled.
“I don’t play football, and I
never will.”
The door slams closed, palms hit
the table. Sweat dripping down.
His gaze follows her, and he wonders
which knife to use to cut his steak.
The thought swirls through his
mind. A question how.
How a simple dance could be so
devastating.
When she comes home, he asks the
question.
The same he had, to first entice
her.
“Will you dance with me?”
I feel like this poem is really deep, and I like that about it. It adds mystery when I don't know how exactly to react to a poem!
ReplyDelete-Raeanne