(read "Valentines" first.)
I finished the whole thing
in one sitting, leaning forward
against the comforter, one knee
to my dreaming husband. There were
barns, little barns, and picture after picture
of the same spotted dog. I was not
enchanted. I did not see the art
of an empty heart-
shaped box.
And then it was done, a few
pages of acknowledgments and things,
and the back cover. The red foil
heart on the front had lost
its shine in the night.
The book was smaller, suddenly,
and my hands felt gritty with sand
and bandages
that were neither here
nor in Valentine,
Nebraska.
I wept.
photograph by DeviantArt user Sinse.
