“What They Left Behind” by J.D.McClatchy:
The room with double beds, side by side,
One was the bed of roses, still made up,
The other the bed of nails, all undone.
In the nightstand clamshell, two Marlboro butts.On the shag, a condom with a tear in its tip
Neither of them noticed—or would even suspect
For two years more. A ballpoint embossed
By a client’s firm: Malpractice Suits.A wad of gum balled in a page of proverbs
Torn from the complimentary Bible.
His lipstick. Her aftershave.A dream they found the next day they’d shared:
All the dogs on the island were dying
And the birds had flown up into the lonely air.
(From Plundered Hearts: New and Selected Poems © 2014 by J.D. McClatchy. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Photo by Wes Peck)
The Dish 