Tuesday, November 1, 2011

December

December
A Fantasy

Somewhere, a woman wakes up
in a bed that she fills half of.

Her white dog hops onto the bed,
the white sheets and comforter

and coverlet, and its gold ID tag
delicately clinks against the collar.

The dog smells like pancake batter.
Its paws are white and clean.

There is no dog hair on any blanket,
nor on the carpet or hardwood floors.

The house offers her a pink bathrobe
on a silver finger poked through

the bathroom door. Here, take this,
her house is empty again, no sign

of dog or human, the kitchen counter
has never been used, the knives

sparkle in their wooden slots, undulled.
Her husband is planning a surprise

for her, that is why he left so early.
We know it, but she doesn’t.

The morning is dark and full of possibility.
She could do anything today,

especially in her home, she could wear
any of her dresses or flowing blouses

and never leave the house, she is so
satiated. When she opens the door

to let the dog into the yard, we see
it has just snowed, the sky glows blue

and we pan back for her reaction to
the silver car in the driveway, big bow,

red, satin, plopped on top, dog yipping
for her to notice the gift, the keys

jammed into the ignition, a silver heart
dangling from them like the pendulum

on a grandfather clock, like the heavy
silver heart that he gave her last year

to string around her throat, so that he
can see how his choices for her please her.

7 comments

  1. Heavy hearts can be pendulous and penitent.

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  2. Wow..you caught me off guard...I did not expect a car in the driveway : )
    Always full of surprises...I love the dog, heard the cling of his collar tag..paws in pancake batter?! too adorable...half bed...I know that
    Happy November 1st Hannah... I like to congratulate every day of the month : )

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  3. It all sounds so perfect, in a suffocating kind of way.

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  4. Great details in this, and then there's the irony of the subtitle "A Fantasy". 1950s? 2011?

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  5. Like taking a movie camera into a dream. Compelling and haunting.

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  6. Another hard (tho' prepared for) turn at the end, and again, I love it. Is our culture more into branding and lassoing and possessing lately, or am I just noticing it more?

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