I haven’t been clean
Since the day he died.
The blood stains
Never faded.

The day my sailor drowned
-God rest-
When I was as young and fresh
As the morning dew on the banks of the Ohio River.

He didn’t know how fast the river flowed
Or deep the pain ran
With every action gone unnoticed,
Every kiss not returned.

I tried to warn him
And didn’t mean to indulge,
But when I saw him,
The ebb and flow of my emotions was too much to bare.

The struggle was
Orgasmic.
As his body fell limp in my arms
I only felt the ebb and flow of the water.

He deserved it. He asked for it.
He always liked it rough.

Now, I am ancient, old, and wrinkled.
I still return to that place with my Grandchildren.
I can hear children singing and see them dancing.
So loud, so young, so fresh.
And think to my self,
“Betty, not while their parents are watching”

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