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The Widower

the man telling the story

By Tina D. LopezPublished 3 days ago • 1 min read
The Widower
Photo by Sean Musil on Unsplash

His wife was Patient Zero.

Empty bleachers,

Women on his playing fields.

He called her adjectives.

Later, me too.

Beautiful women for fun and games.

He cut me with

you can come if you want

then named my bleeding

insecurity.

He hoped I would shrink

into his vision of

reasonable.

Small.

Quiet.

But I kept banging on the walls

with his wife,

who drowned herself

to float away from him,

beside me.

That winter

death squatted in my house,

cradled me in my bed,

whispered:

Get out.

I started packing.

My pulse weakened

but refused to quit.

Now when I hear widower,

I don't think

man mourning his wife.

I think empty bleachers.

I think games he played with women.

I think about who is telling the story.

His wife was Patient Zero.

I was almost Patient One

but I'm still banging on the walls.

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About the Creator

Tina D. Lopez

Finally realizing I need to start acting like the main character in my own life. Writing helps me figure out where I keep losing the plot and giving away my spotlight. My story is a big mix of drama, comedy, tragedy, thriller, and, horror.

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    Written by Tina D. Lopez