Woman, shelved

Woman, shelved

The way she fluffed the pillows 
was as if she was looking
for her side of the bed.

Even when we asked her to stop
sending gifts, her hands
would find a chore in every cushion.

Chintz yellowed the arms
and back, in fact
the whole room was jaundiced.

Empty washing lines meant 
nothing till it rained and then 
his wallet was a church door. 

She dared to peek and glimpsed 
an image of herself she'd thought
lost, shimmering there like stained glass.









~