we agreed 
was a better word than
Odd

we practiced 
times-tables more
certain than time itself

than SPAM
doubling as grainy
crumbs of meatloaf

we still kept 
the yard edged
smooth and sprinklered 

spread petunias
round linden saplings
pink dogwood droppings

sharpened our
eyes on neighbors’ 
fragrant grill-smoke

which was 
beneath our mushed
repackaged TV dinners

balanced
only by glimpses
through the fiberglass

fence, sighs
of we’ll wait and
see, listen for the cordless

phone to return
our unconscious 
prayers like a dream 

of a
ghost to make us 
divisible again, creasing 

his swanky suit
behind the screen-door, 
a tad late to embrace, to come

home