skills
ovenbird
She
couldn’t marry
him
.
The
strictures
of
her
specific
religion
wouldn’t
allow
for
it
because
he
failed
to
meet
certain
criteria.
So
he
lived
in
her
basement
suite
while
he
recovered
from
open
heart
surgery
and
they
pretended
they
weren’t
living
together
.
Love
will
always
find
a
loophole.
That
’s
one
of
its
special
skills.
When
he
recovered
he
rented
an
apartment
and
blew
his
money
on
whisky
and
cigarettes
.
Then
he
died
of
the
heart
attack
that
hadn’t managed
to
finish
him
off
the
first
time
.
When
she
couldn’t
reach
him
by
phone
she
went
to
his
house
.
When
he
didn’t
answer
the
door
she
ripped
it
off
the
hinges.
She
was
barely
five
feet
tall
and
maybe
one
hundred pounds
and
that
door
didn’t
stand
a
chance
.
Love
will
make
itself
a
sledgehammer.
That
’s
one
of
its
special
incarnations.
She
found
him
in
bed
,
already
cold
,
an
unfinished
book
on
the
bedside
table
,
his
guitar
in
its
case
on
the
floor
.
Now
she
visits
his
grave
once
a
year
,
and
sits
with
the
ghost
of
everything
that
wasn’t allowed
to
run
its
course
.
A
part
of
her
will
always
be
his
.
Love
doesn’t
believe
in
death
.
That
’s
one
of
its
special
delusions
.
260331
what's it to you?
who
go
blather
from
