The Other Husbands Are Dead
Now there are no men but you
to cloak and shovel, to unfreeze
the pipes or open tight things.
Now these young widows
gather at the toolbox of you,
tight as screws, a harem of hollow.
You are no MacGyver, are best
at calling other men to repair
such broken things.
But with no one left to ask
and the women on their knees,
you hold out your smooth hands
and help them to rise, to unfold,
to learn their own loosening.
—Cathryn Cofell, Appleton
