in an excess of passion and never left.
I lived my own life though I may
have overindulged his whims.
Today when I bring him his ballot,
he asks for the Argonwald 1916
letter opener my mother
gave him for his 41st birthday.
I pace as he slowly slits
the envelop and pulls out
the ballot and the second
envelope with stiff fingers.
He reads the instructions
and asks whether he should
fill in the circles straight
across the top.
I give him a pen and watch as
he slowly colors the bubbles,
eases the ballot into the secure
envelop and signs on a slant.
I tell him that today's date is
written 10.10.2020. I drive us
to the post office. How much
is love and how much duty?
Vera Kewes Salter was born in England to a family of refugees from Europe. She moved to the United States and married and raised a family here. She has recent publications in Writing in a Woman's Voice, Red Eft Review, Right Hand Pointing and Persimmon Tree.
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