Homecoming

by Diane Redleaf

How strong one needs to be
to lose a wife….

The hollow ring on the nightstand
by her spot in the bed.

Her ashes fall down.

She is missed      whole like the dew      like the rain

           —my heart, his—
.
he cannot hear me
bringing her back….

What can he need of me?

Tarnished, scratched, rusted,
tied to one home.

Metal does not crack…

She sits beside him on her empty throne,
the window looking out.

Her coat by the door.

How strong one needs to be
to smile….

She hovers like the
girl she left whole in me.