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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal> A WIDOW BEFORE MY TIME<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>“Aliens have abducted my husband,”<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I tell myself as I throw another load<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Of soiled laundry into the washer<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>And a voice snaps, “I will never<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Go into a nursing home!” <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>In his place, they have left a shell<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Of the man I married almost thirty years ago. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>His polio-ravaged self betrays him with each wheelchair transfer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Memory and bodily functions randomly fail.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>The sharp intelligence that prepared briefs and argued in court<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Can no longer follow novels’ plots or keep track of routines.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Most friends, fearful of their futures or<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>At a loss, no longer call.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Distant relatives remain so.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>With a heavy sigh, my guide dog lies by my side.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My therapist listens as I describe<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My place In this downward spiral.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Aliens have abducted my husband;<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I wish they would return for me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:1.5in;text-indent:.5in'>Sally <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>