Wife,


tomorrow, I’ll be 

farther than ever before from your hands & feet.

Wife, 

when I lay me down to sleep


I pray for us.
Wife,

I made a fuss

over time & frivolity, really.

Wife,


sometimes, I really,

really, really miss you.
Wife, 

there’s a tv show I’m into 

& the main character is you, pretty much.

Wife,

it’s amazing how little we touch 

now compared to before when it was all the time.
Wife,

I forgot to write you into the last line,

but I swear that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten anything.

Wife, 

there's an ampersand in everything

about you & me & you & me.


Dujie Tahat is our Poet in Residence for December. This poem previously appeared in the 2018 Jack Straw Writer’s Anthology.