Counted Only

Counted Only

(“Only the person involved can know his own bitterness or joy—no one else can really share it.” Proverbs 14:10)

The bathtub sat clawfooted upon the ground
filled with rain water after the storms of hail and sun
crossed the sky like yellowed venetian blinds.

The man’s geography was no more than shed-sized that day,
moving across the weathered rug for a drink or modest lunch
and back to the lounge chair where the pain had remained,
an unwelcome houseguest,
erasing memories, extinguishing joy, and this day

With no one home

His words were zero and his tears

were

Counted only by God.