'A Ten Year Marriage' by Valerie Griffin

 The mediocre honeymoon; the dinner parties with variations on prawn cocktail, steak and chips and black forest gateau; the overflowing laundry basket you refused to empty; the food mixer, the hoover, the teas-made, the microwave, the dishwasher, all presents to make my life easier; the son who lost his valiant battle; the empty cot, the chiming mobile hanging above; the blanketing silence of blame; the void; the smile that began to resemble a sneer; the precious memories locked away, unshared; the sudden late nights; the sudden business trips; the end of a marriage; the sunshine back in my life.