A man with his wife
away does the alone things
without guilt; perhaps
he walks about the town
for hours or lies
in the sun all afternoon;
perhaps he releases
a few million sperm,
like lemmings, to the sea.

True, the man feels
lost some of the time
not knowing where
to put his hands, but
he finds his pockets finally
and the obedient world
jumps back into place.

At night, the man still sleeps
on his own side. Perhaps
he dreams he makes
love to his wife
who becomes pregnant
and has a child--all
in that same night, all
in the space of a lifetime.