Pathetic Fallacy Numerically

The day after my wife’s death

I did several things to keep busy.

One was to wash clothes

and sort them on the new-made bed.

At the end of this there were five odd socks,

five odd socks and not one mated pair,

nor were there any more clothes to look through—

Supernatural, Natural or Unnatural Symbolism.

I tell you without a word of a lie:

there were five odd socks. And I cried.

Then I went back and retrieved the rest of my work

from a half-emptied washing machine.