a shadow of their former selves
he thinks she’s gassed
not drunk
just exhausted to the bone
by way of living
flat-footed & unable to react
like she once used to
he’s not doing much better
pretending to be a bird
surviving
on seeds & roadkill
an occasional
brandy slightly chilled
they sold or gave away
everything
& took their act on the road
convinced there was something
out there
besides consumption
september two thousand twenty-two
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved
jdubqca 
Whoa! Excellent imagery!
Thank you very much!