just like in the movies

we sleep on a foam
mattress
on a cheap wire frame
and at 5 a.m.
she awakens me
because
her side of the bed
is sinking

the middle peg
has inverted
and will
no longer
hold the mass
of her pregnant body

how did this happen?
she asked
you did this
somehow you did this
when you were
vacuuming
or straightening up
I know you think
it’s because
I’m fat
but you weigh
more than
I do so
you’re wrong

naturally
I say
turning on
the light

we get up
and I struggle
to straighten
the peg leg
half asleep
and hung over

I can’t get it
I say to her
my hand’s
all fucked up

you mean the dog
fight hand?

yeah

you barely got bit
you’re fine

but the tooth
went deep

oh stop
she said

now try pulling
off the mattress
she said
then straightening
the leg

so I drag off
the mattress
and then
she said
those clamps
are broken
how did
those clamps
break
that’s the reason
I’m sinking
I’m going
to end up
on the floor
on that
dirty
stinking rug
with the dog
which wouldn’t
be so bad
if she didn’t
eat poop

but finally
I straighten
the leg
put the mattress
back on
straighten it
climb in
turn off
the light
and begin
the long
climb
back into sleep

as the morning
birds begin
outside
our window

you know
she said
I bet
I know
what
happened
to the leg

oh yeah?
I said

it must
have bent
the other night
she said
when you
were pounding
into me
you were
going so hard
I was worried
maybe you
made me bleed
but no
instead
you just
broke
the bed

oh
I said

and wasn’t that a strange
movie tonight
she said
I kept waiting for
something
good to happen
to Jolene
you know
that turning
point in a movie
when they
finally
catch a break
but nothing
good ever
happened

why would someone
make a movie
like that?

I sat up in bed
and put
my glasses on

where are you
going?
she asked

I’ll be right back
I said

I went downstairs
and sat
on
the toilet
in the dark

I heard Nobody
scratching
around
his litter box

he too was
shitting
in the dark

I thought about
silence

I thought about
being

in the audience
when a hippo
swallowed
a midget
in India

I thought about
scrubbing
the mold
from the tub

and then Nobody
walked over
stretched
his limbs
and vomited
on my foot

the morning birds
were singing
loudly now

as I wiped
my foot
and then
wiped
my ass

and I could
already
hear

our toothless
neighbor
clanking
around
his
junkyard lawn

the engines
of another
day
beginning
again

the whistles
blowing

the punch
clocks
punching

the eggs frying
in the pan

the children
of night
tucked
back
into their caves

the owls
hollowed out
by the sun

morning bird
I thought
wish me
luck

tonight
I will try
for the other leg

so that maybe
together
we can
sink
into the
same dream

where a black cat
is gunned
down
by a silver bullet

and you
and I
can begin
again

just like in the movies

where I take your hand
as you’re about
to leave

tell you I love you

before you
board
a plane
heading east

a red rose
burning
in your hair