she awakens from a nightmare
of pain, of suffering, of loss
rolling over she reaches for him
before she remembers, again
that he no longer sleeps beside her
blurry eyed, she stumbles
into the bathroom
looking for the pills they say,
will help her forget
she finds instead his shaving cream
and the cologne their son got him
for Father's Day
she finds her son in the living room
asleep on the couch, the TV flickering
clutching his teddy bear close,
the one he outgrew years ago
she turns off the TV
not wanting to see more news
about the accident, the tragedy
the loss
Labels: Poetry
