Husband (noun): cruelty unmatched by nature,

I am a body pulled from death,

Curled on a land of moss,

Soft ants pick at my skin

The drapery of the room, a cacophony of trees

They watch me,

Hair like leaves hide there faces: ashamed,

had they watch him kill me?

Wolf approaches to comfort me

I go to sleep

Sun beats down on bruised skin

Tall grass hides my frame

Fretting over me

A hyena howls,

There is a stampede of hooves,

I am pressed further into the ground

I go to sleep

A current like a body engulfs me,

Brushed like a breath against rocks:

A great reef.

The sandy bed of the ocean floor cradles me

Waves crash far above,

The rush of water like thunder tries soothe me,

Brushing the hair from my face

My head rests on her lap.

I go to sleep

The carpeted floor of my apartment.

Droning voices from the other room,

Call out for help

The sounds on the television continue,

The scene shifts

There is dinner cooking on the stove

My daughter’s little hands pet my face,

I stay awake.