Edna and Frank
have been married a long, long time.
When asked, “A Tuesday
past forever,” is Frank’s line.
For the most part
they putter around their trailer home.
It’s been just the
two of them since their kids are grown.
They never leave.
They don’t take a vacation.
Somewhere they lost
the genteel art of conversation.
She is wearing
the same faded housedress for days.
His suspenders
over his t-shirt keep his pants in place.
Frank sits at the
table and works the crossword in the paper
while she hovers
over the stove making soup for later.
And Edna says,
“I’ve never liked the 31st.
Bad things happen
and it always turns out for the worst.
And in my view,
July 31st should be wiped away
because nothing,
no nothing good comes today.”
A few moments
later he speaks up to say,
“I don’t mind it.
After all, today is my birthday.”
“I know,” she says
and spoons the soup up in a ladle.
He continues
to work his puzzle at the table.
Edna and Frank
have been married a long, long time.
When asked, “A Tuesday
past forever,” is Frank’s line.
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