Conversation, Ante Meridiem

Conversation, Ante Meridiem

She says her second husband committed

suicide to spite her first husband who

also committed suicide and now she

thinks of committing suicide because her

son has moved away and her

daughter is almost out of school she

waves across the street at her

old house and says he shot himself right

there so are we going to

have sex or what?

I say yes but the sun is

hovering over Cairo and

wants you to know he’ll be back.

She says are you hungry I

think I have some salad.

From Michael J. Vaughn: Collected Poems

Notes: This is less poem-writing than dictation. Except the bit about Cairo. But I do think that's the thing to say to people who talk of suicide. The sun will be back, and things will look better.