Surely

                                      

Surely




Overall it’s a good sign, given that I’ve never attempted to kill myself,

but as I move into middle age, I imagine myself as a very old man,

sitting by the window thankful that I still have my wife: someone

who really cares about me, is a great companion, a professional nurse,

and a decent cook.



What I won’t tell her is how thankful I am for the life we had together,

nor that because she’s much younger than I am, it’s more than likely

I’ll go before her, nor that I hope she continues to find joy out of life

after I’m gone, because I know if I said these things it would surely

upset her. . .




 Jeffrey Zable



Jeffrey Zable is a teacher and conga drummer who plays Afro-Cuban folkloric music

for dance classes and Rumbas around the San Francisco Bay Area. His poetry, fiction,

and non-fiction have appeared in hundreds of literary magazines and anthologies.    

Recent writing in Ariel Chart, Hypnopomp, Ink In Thirds, Tigershark, The Stray Branch,

Pensive Stories, Third Wednesday, Brushfire, Smoky Blue, Greensilk, Corvus, and many others