the cake knife

when i see her
with a cake knife
in hand, raised
high into the air,
icing still on
the sharp edge,
her shadow
on the wall,
the arm, the blade,
her head reared
back, i wonder
what i could have
done differently
to have avoided
this untimely death.
flowers, candy,
perhaps a kind
word or too. maybe
if i had just
listened just once
to what she had
to say, but no,
i was too bored
and sleepy
with her voice.