He and She
Perry L. Powell
He paraded down the streets of Atlanta.
She hobbled in leg braces worn for polio.
He learned to shoot and to jump from airplanes.
She ate marzipan in the candy store.
They married in the heat of the war.
He lay frost-bitten and wounded at Bastogne.
She took death notices to the families.
He tossed his purple heart in the trash can.
She got her father to find him a job.
He got drunk, argued with no one, and lost jobs.
She dealt with creditors and bore babies.
He died quietly in a hospital bed.
She made all his last decisions for him.
Perry L. Powell is a systems analyst who lives near Atlanta, Georgia. His work has appeared in a number of venues, including Atavic Poetry, Frogpond, Haiku Presence, Lucid Rhythms, The Blue Hour, The Camel Saloon, The Heron's Nest, The Innisfree Poetry Journal, The Lyric, and Wolf Willow Journal.
