Response to Fleur Adcock’s “Things”

THINGS by Fleur Adcock

There are worse things than having behaved foolishly in public.
There are worse things than these miniature betrayals,
committed or endured or suspected; there are worse things
than not being able to sleep for thinking about them.
It is 5 a.m. All the worse things come stalking in
and stand icily about the bed looking worse and worse and worse

RESPONSES:

Everything

believe me,
public foolery is the worst
right in front of the world
trapped and captured in time
tweeted and retweeted a billion times

and then the stench of betrayal
when your wife becomes your brother’s
and her life becomes another’s
and the child is not your daughter
i’ve seen nothing worse
everything reminds you of everything
her clothes, his quotes
the cradle, the table, the label
and the night is over
but the worst things remain

leonell echa