And My Husband Jim's Retired

He points out constellations

And I do the dishes

He went to this star and that star

And I scrape the plates

He tells our grandkids stories

And I empty out the dishwasher

And put a new load in

He stands in front of the telescope

Like it’s a loaded gun

And I dry my hands on a dish towel

And think of something to say

I’m a housewife, you see

And my husband Jim’s retired

I go to the market

I make us dinner

I chop carrots

I peel potatoes

And Jim scratches a rash on his arm

That wasn’t there a week ago

He asks me if I’ve noticed

That his left eye

Is now a different color

And I say I haven’t

I’ve never noticed, honestly

What color his left eye

Or his right eye is

He touches me at night

And his hands are cold

I kiss his fingers

And I taste something metallic

But I don’t say anything

I’m a silent partner

And my husband Jim’s retired

At parties, he can finish sentences

Right out of the mouths of strangers

People he’s never met before

And yet he knows them inside and out

On the way to my sister’s

We hit a deer with our car

He gets out and touches it

And the deer jumps up

And runs away

Can’t do anything about the car though

I guess deer are easier to fix

I burn the pork chops I’m making for dinner

And he eats them anyway

As long as it’s meat

He’ll swallow it whole and lick the plate clean

I’m a home cook

And my husband Jim’s retired

People ask me if he’s different

Since he got back from the last mission

And I say, ‘No, not really’

Because that’s all they want to hear

Nobody wants to know about the green freckles

All over his back

Or the way his nose seems to be sinking into his face

Or how when he sneezes, all the lights in the house

Go on and off

People wouldn’t believe it

Hell, Jim doesn’t even believe it

He says it’s getting older

And the signs of aging

And the lights are just blinking because our wiring’s all screwed up

And always has been

And I’m just supposed to be his wife

And to introduce myself as such

Hello, how are you?

Yes, I’m fine

This is my husband, Jim

He’s retired

I just keep doing what I’ve always done

Whether Jim was here

Or off in an orbit somewhere

Floating through the cosmos

I’ve just been here

Scraping mashed potatoes

Off white plates

Practicing saying—

‘I had a husband

But he never came back’

--Only then, he did

And now he sits in front of the window at night

Looking up at something only he can see

And I lay in bed thinking—

Who did they send back to me?

And somewhere downstairs

The dishwasher goes to sleep