Sestina, Horrid.

The trees look like spines after the leaves
have fallen down around the feet of the girl
on her way back to the house
that won’t really feel like home until the fire
is going and the glass planes separate the night.
The din of the television

keeps going and the glow from the television
turns their faces blue until her dad leaves
to go somewhere for the night.
Just the mother and girl
now adding kindling to the fire
listen to the car move away from the house.

Her father looks in the rearview at the house
and sees the blue television light
and hopes they don’t forget about the fire.
He still cares, even though he leaves
And goes off to waste money on a girl
who probably doesn’t care, but can pretend for 100$ a night.

The TV turns to a rerun of Saturday Night
Live and canned laughter fills the house.
Realizing it’s getting late the girl
stops her nighttime heart to heart with the television
says goodnight and leaves
the family room, the TV room, and puts another log on the fire.

Where there’s smoke there’s fire
Thinks the mother, not wife, as she thinks of the nights
and what started these leaves.
She looks around the house
and turns of the television
just as Chris Farley and some girl

begin a skit. She wonders about the other girl
as she begins to put out the fire.
She sits back down in front of the television,
her date for the night
Whose laughter fills the house
which has become just a home during these leaves

I hate the leaves, says the girl,
On the way to the house, and when it’s just us by the fire
On all these one-sided nights making love to the television