BLACK BUTTERFLY

 POETRY, PROSE AND PAINTINGS

                 She Can See Him

                  She can see him

                  She can stand by his chair

                  or take his wife's place if she chooses

                  at the long table where they eat,

                  separated by space and more.

                  She can watch as he shaves,

                  pulling faces in the mirror

                  as he brushes his teeth,

                  and he will not know she is there.

                  She can watch as he sits

                  in the big leather chair

                  in the evening marking papers

                  tutting and shaking his head.

                  She can see him

                  From any where in his house.

                  From the long gallery

                  that she can run or slide along

                  playing with the dappled sunlight.

                  In the kitchen

                  where he butters

                  his breakfast toast

                  or makes his evening milky drink.

                  She can touch

                  the paintings on the walls

                  the carpets on the floors,

                  his face as he dozes in a chair.

                  She can watch,

                  if she wants

                  as he dutifully humps

                  his disinterested wife.

                  She can see,

                  all his triumphs

                  and his failures

                  and she can laugh at both.

                  The fault is his

                  he let her in,

                  invited her

                  to step over the threshold

                  now, whenever she likes

                  she can see him.

                  © 2004 C M-H