Drown Him Out

Begging for love and purpose,
hoping to be seen,
she’d become his
psychological punching bag
absorbing his pain as her own.

Her smile was hesitant
and apologetic
as she applied her every faculty
to avoid the daily arguments,
the eternal backbeat of their home.

Since no wish was easily granted,
she had long since surrendered
any righteous indignation,
but woke each day already exhausted
from feeling sinful and out of place.

Her one act of rebellion,
when his face closed down
like a door slamming shut,
was to pilfer his unheavenly thunder,
scattering gales of merriment
like a rainstorm to drown him out.