Suspenders

i found your father’s suspenders today.

after your mother pulled them from

the bulldozer’s teeth and i cleaned the bird.

/

i wore plastic. the bird wore

a bloody beak and a fake glazed eye.

/

ed, the 89 year old pall mall smoking

cinema attendant said the bird shook for a moment.

that reminded me of ed’s first wife and how she

died in that crash in ‘62. ed was chasing her

in another car. she burned up.

all he could do was watch, he said, and now,

remarry. his second wife is dying from a stroke.

/

ed says it gets lonely in the house.

i personally can’t just

watch birds die.