Life of a Wife No Longer

Life of a Wife No Longer

Be woman; Be woman till you’re all over me.
Be woman wet with our sweat, hot, rhythmic, woman.

Your brother’s in town.
Be sister, be little sister.
Remember he will tell mom, he always has.

Be a victim.
Be the victim; of your own depression,
of the child you bore me,
of the mind’s evil ways.
Be that victim which sleeps only to wake and cry.
Be that girl that tries to take her own life,
the life of a mother,
a sister,
a wife-

Come to me in darkness, like a ghost,
apparition of faith,
soul with no body,
with no flesh-

Remember brother tells mother
and mother will cry for her lost child.
Father cries for his lost son.
I cry for my wife who is gone,
like that ghost at dawn,
like my son who has died at the hands of one who loves
no longer,
who loves no one,
who loves not even herself.