Ground Zero
by Jonathan Bolick


All gathered, waiting
with baited breath

as the husband approached
the flowered podium,

his eyes blue with glossy
red touches and dark circles

he breathed in and out
several times, painfully

he looked up,
spoke so soft and low

men cupped their ears
and the women leaned in

“She enjoyed me when I was no one,
She liked me when I was someone,
She loved me more than anyone.”

And he left,
all alone.






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