Caretaking
what do you do when your ex-husband has surgery?
you wake up at 5:00 AM to shuttle him, calm him
come back and smile as the anesthesia still clings to his words
settle him in his recliner, fetch the meds at the pharmacy
buy food, orange juice, stool softener
then notice the kitchen is “bachelor” clean, so
go to work wiping, sweeping, putting the clutter of condiments
into the empty fridge
hand wash the large, yellow bowl
with paintings of grapes that I had bought years ago,
when we still ate together
and entertained, serving salad from this bowl
now clean and storing onions on his shelf
next to the crock pot
so many items that remind me of when our life was
entangled, a picture of our son, the lamp
that used to be next to our bed
the mismatched fork that belonged to a full set,
a wedding gift from my uncle
he teases me between gratitudes
insists that I like giving him a hard time
picking on him while he’s down
but I am grateful too
tonight we eat at the same table
all the strange moments
led to this peace
*
Alicia Lee began writing poetry back in the late 1900’s. She graduated from The Evergreen State College with a major in Creative Writing. Her work has appeared in Impetus, Slightly West, 4th St. and Nocturnal Lyric.
This is wonderful, for several reasons. I recognize the situation all too well, the settling back into old patterns, post-divorce, but more importantly, all your details are vivid, specific, and singular to your relationship. I gobbled this one up.
Thank you.
💜
Honest and tender.