She watched the glass
now empty
badly in need of a refill
her arms hung heavily by her sides
too weary from her constant revisiting
of a task she longed for him to do
he too waited
accustomed to her frequent attendance
he saw no need ot break a familiar pattern
though he knew it was his duty
to refresh her
to fill her
she had done so well
refreshing herself
he now had no memory
of how to go about the task
and he wondered why her eyes were so angry
though her speech did not give her away
the distance he felt from her body
when he reached to caress her
left unanswered questions in his mind
that he dared not utter
afraid of the repsonsibility
her answer might require on his part
and so he waited
waited for her to refill the glass
but instead she just stood there
with her arms dangling like leaden appendages
looking up toward the heavens
lips moving silently
pouring out her soul
tears streaming down
until they overflowed the brim of the glass
and as she reached for it
the unthinkable occurred
the glass tipped over
spilling its contents
rolling
rolling
rolling out of her reach
landing at his feet
and she still standing
not moving except
to see if her prayers had been answered
watched him bend to pick it up
staring
as if at a foreign object
finally a glint of recognition lighting his face
he revisited his initial call
filling it with himself
he gave her to drink
and she partook of his offering gratefully
still looking toward heaven
and then into his eyes
now filling with understanding
as the anger left hers
making room for softness in her gaze
as her arms regained their strength
no longer exhausted from carrying
both their loads
with one arm unfettered
she was now free
to embrace him
truly her glass was full.
- Michelle McKinney Hammond
