Poems by
“E” (a.k.a. EROBOS)
“HUSBANDS” With the most friendly and congenial greeting I could summon on a Monday morning, I said ‘good morning’ to the woman who sat to the left, inside the community based organization, this woman, whose baby granddaughter’s wheel carriage was bent under the weight of an old corpulent sax player who had lost his balance at a community outreach the day before, taking my time, energy, strength, to straighten out the severely bent wheel; this same woman, whom I complimented when I tasted her vibrant, arroz y abicheulas; she had smiled liked the sun breaking through the clouds, a kiss on the cheek encouraged her socialization, we had a beautiful community event, with perfect weather to boot...This same woman, in response to my most friendly and congenial greeting that I could summon on a Monday morning; recoiled at my touch, like I was a giant spider with the face of a rat and the body of a snake, she bared her fangs at me, like I was a rapist, like I was a composite of all the men that used and abused and disrespected her, like I was the man that broke her heart when she knew what love was, way past the point of healing...At the community event, she told me that there is no ‘Mr.’ to her ‘Ms.,’ and she isn’t ‘Mrs.’ anybody...in fact, she doesn’t miss them at all...she told me that both her husbands are dead...and those are just the two she talks about....I did not know that I had that much power over a woman to the point of making her react so honestly...to make her revolt in disgust, like I kidnapped her in her own home; like she woke up to use the bathroom at 3 in the morning and there I was, reaching for her like Swamp Thing with scabies and bedbugs on the tips of my fingers...Maybe, some quality I may or may not possess, reminds her of her dead husbands, reaching out from the grave, searching through the past, saying to her: “I’m not dead....We’re not dead....To have and to hold, till death do us part!...Why are you still there, playin’ the victim, black widow bitch!...You think you survived us....but we’re the lucky ones....You were our partner in sickness, disease, and addiction....We are waiting for you regardless....” With the most friendly and congenial greeting that I could summon on a Monday morning; it was not me that touched her hand...it was her husband. 8-21-11 22:43hrs
Situations 17
17
