For 50 years of marriage
the only times Jerry and Emma fought
were over the cleanliness of the house.
She got onto him
for leaving his shoes around …
leaving the toilet seat up.
If he were honest,
he enjoyed riling her up.
It was a friendly war.
Now that she was gone,
it wasn’t a war he wanted to win.
Jerry did the dishes,
he cleaned the entire house,
even dusted
like his wife had done on a daily basis.
These were things
that didn’t come naturally to him,
but he couldn’t bear
to see the house unclean.
It never was again.