In twenty years His hair would be thinning In thirty years Skin starting to sag on the bone
He’d still be Shelving books Dreaming aloud Half in this world half in his head
She didn’t hate him She’d never hate him But The pond He wanted to go
See the pond It had a little island Full of lilies Then he’d start rambling
About the painted turtles the false map turtles Always the goddamn turtles
No she wouldn’t let anger seep in He liked turtles So what? It already felt distant
An imagined life About to begin The turtles sunning on the rocks
Season after season of blooming lilies She’d seen it before She wouldn’t see it again
Sums Equations Addition Subtraction Division Multiplication
How a life can be reduced to math No, she wouldn’t pity him
Beautiful. I always think of your sister when you write about turtles.