subtext

he was in another room quiet but present

children appeared then disappeared hungry

she brought us into the house quickly

the cats for sale were scattered everywhere

we were to find them and decide ourselves

they were all older cats and unkempt

they purred when picked up charming

bed sheets lay tangled across the floor

except for the bedrooms the house was empty

the house was gold with dark green trim

outside a new spring well flowed

two lots over a grocer’s screen door slammed

it advertised cold Schlitz beer for sale

I had been there before somewhere

he watched from a window nearby

my wife couldn’t decide as if it were required

I wanted to leave she resisted stubbornly

I couldn’t make it up the stairs again

the children roamed through the kitchen

one surreptitiously gnawed on a sausage

the others followed her from room to room

he sat in the front room angry at us all

I tried to engage him with small talk

the house the well the town itself

I threatened to leave it was late

she couldn’t decide but had decided

we could wait we had to wait

relatives talked in nearby rooms

his anger seethed beneath the door

I wanted to leave but couldn’t leave

I woke she slept the room was still

one of our cats purred nearby

I dressed silently then went to work