Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

Lost Life

I wonder what happened in their bedroom
that led to it.
Did he not touch her enough?
Did he touch her too much?
Did he fall asleep with the t.v. on
and snore until she thought she would have to get a shovel
and beat him silent?
Did she listen to one too many insults from him
about her mother?
Did he come into the kitchen
and criticize her for not heating up the pan
before she poured the oil in?
Did he leave the toilet seat up in the dark
for her to fall into?
Or was it his pile of clothes
ever growing in the corner,
that finally caused her to snap?
Was it that she wanted children
and he didn’t?
Or was it the way he belched without regard for her presence?
Maybe it was something much simpler than that.
Maybe she just stopped loving him,
just stopped wanting to see him come up the driveway,
just stopped thinking about him during the day
while she stood in the kitchen drinking her coffee.
The spark had dimmed.
Vanished.
Smoldered to nothing.
And years go by
bleeding.
One day
it’s not even a fish anymore.