# 170: the divorce rate

lanky shire horse
of the wife
poodlehaired
lobster-pink face
shot frozen
side-eyed
sly statistics
approach.
rough patch
of the honeymoon
delicate-edged
six & a half inch
crystal high-heels
& won’t pay
to reverse the charges
on a past vasectomy
to travel back
to the place
of having children
to have his manhood
ripped open
you can’t claim for that
you know
& talking is different
from fantasizing.
wedding day’s
mantlepiece-arched mind
still standing around
in starched brown suits
then this:
pink torpedo
of last night’s
lipstick &
rolled silver
eyelids of
popped paracetamols.
old marriage kids
don’t like new dad’s
pissy-iced persona
ringing up mum —
how can people fall out of love —
& hanging up