s(he) is the he who is separate
from the androgynous body t(he)y shared
enslaved and shackled to his barrel steel chest
t(he)y are no longer One, the Union of saints
and Sinners – at heart, waste in hell – is over.

day to night s(he) was Faithful,
Loyal and Obedient – everything he admired
in a black labrador. s(he) performed (he)r sacred duties
to the Master with a smile, the trophy wife &
perpetual homemaker, making love to the stove
bearing beer and a kiss for the kids, your Daddy's

so good to us, he was a good Master, good doggy,
said to (he)r you're a good woman, oh yes you are,
what a good lady. does little wifey want a bone?
good wifey, good woman. good bitch. down bitch.
stay. sit. good, wifey, good. roll over bitch. now roll.

silence was the answer to the blackandblue of midnight
strife and scratches, bursting china on kitchen walls
while the Children cowered under covers
and read nancy drew by flashlight

s(he) drew (he)r fingers along crimson silk
up alabaster skin and through flaxen curls,
discovered (he)r femininity and there it lay –
She was beautiful, vivacious, worthy
so She threw the pan, scattered fried eggs
and broke a beer bottle over his skull.

She took the ford and went to the coast,
fell in love and married herself.
found the right to vote, the nine-to-five,
freedom from wives and t(he)ir hypothetic wars:
no more fidelity in vacuum cleaners
or grocery coupons or sexless nights –
instead instituting erotic organs
and a split from her prior subjugation.
She was a woman and She was Her own,
separate but equal, alone but enamored.
finally whole & wholly herself.