she'd stand planted there
to plunge into
as his striped upholstered chair

to kick his feet up
like he does on the ottoman
and turn to gelatin
as collagen

clear as the fuzzy slippers
next to him on the hardwood floor
lying in the darkness
as the magazine in his bedroom drawer

the printed colored cover
pulled from her perch
slender and thin-skinned
like that of a birch

He thought
tomorrow roll in
like a cool ocean breeze
not leave him holding his head
falling to his knees