I take each jacket off its hanger,
fold it carefully
for its new home
the same with slacks
some never worn.
Tears rack me
out of the bedroom that was ours.
I keen
wrap my own arms
around myself
hear what I’m feeling
leave my chest
escape my throat.
But only sounds of pain have left.
The hurt remains.
I rock
look at rain cleaned trees.
Maybe shirts are easier.
I go back in
and start to fold.
The song comes on,
the one our friends played
when we reunited
twenty years ago.
“Just in time
I found you just in time.
The losing dice were tossed.
Our bridges had been crossed.
I found you just in time.”
From ‘Maybe Shirts are Easier’
DAYS OF TOGETHER
LIKE FALLEN SNOW
MAYBE SHIRTS ARE EASIER
When Bobby and Bobbie Made Music Together
UNPUBLISHED