COMMON SCENE WHEN DIAPERS AND URINE BAGS WERE NOT YET INVENTED

When the clock’s short
and long hands aligned at twelve
the second time around in a day,
the man with a catheter
roused his wife, telling her
he wanted to move his bowels.

She held the catheter, helped him
maneuver his bony thighs
into a sitting position on the bowl.
His penis wedged straight up,
releasing into the tube crimson
fluid out of its engorged head,
like a maya feeding between his legs.

He punctuated each bowel movement
by burying his face in her chest,
shutting down his eyes in pain.

_________
(Published in Ani 31 Literary Journal)