From her window
the pale, willowy
young woman, a
midwife, watches a
paper cup being
tossed around in
the wind. The dark
ocean, the great
progenitor in
the background,
illuminated by waning
moonlight. She waits
for his headlights
to appear, her
fiancé, a fleshy,
ruddy man, the
town’s undertaker,
who brings freshly
cut carnations,
and a long,
warm embrace.