Remains

Boiling pasta

and collecting

scattered

toys

I look up to see your face:

shock of familiar arguments

reconciliations

before a long trip

steel gray rollaboard

packed awry

toiletries

of motion

coils

of expansion

padding

the works with thick

cartilage.

Sharp angles and shadows

of our first aggressive courtships

have broadened

softened ­–

a comprehension including

weaknesses

failures

and preserves of love.

Only when I look away,

walk into the master bathroom

and shut the door

does the last part

hit me

as I stare at the mess of product

intermingling around the washbowl:

Aquafresh,

Old Spice

Lancôme

beard trimmer

curling iron

tweezers

maintenance

compassion

nurture.

Joshua Bridgwater Hamilton is a Louisville, KY native who migrated to Corpus Christi with his family, where he teaches Spanish. Between Kentucky and Texas, he has traveled and lived in several places, including Spain, Appalachia, Panamá, Peru, the Philippines, and the Colorado River.  He has two chapbooks: Rain Minnows (Gnashing Teeth Publishing), and Slow Wind (Finishing Line Press), and his poetry appears in such journals as Windward Review, Driftwood, Voices de la Luna, Tiny Seeds Journal, and Sybil Journal.