Joint Custody

"Mommy, where are we going tonight?" asked the little girl.

"We're almost there now, Persephone," the mother answered too brightly.  Her lipsticked mouth grew thin and her eyes glittered.

"There's nothing here, but a bunch of old tombstones."

They got out of the sedan, then headed for a familiar tombstone.  Their father and husband lay there after a hunting accident the year before.

"Why are we here, Mommy?"

"Your father wants joint custody.  He gets you in the winter."

A rumbling started within the grave....

Shadows On the Wall

His wife and children sit
night after night.
Staring at light images
in the magic box.

Sometimes he will read
or nod a little.
He wishes he could talk
to someone.

The other night
he turned to his wife.
"Not tonight, Josh."
She watched the couple
in her bedroom set.

He fantasizes
smashing the puppet stage
that keeps his family
preoccupied and remote.
Alone in the cave with their shadows.