Jim Wise

Spent the day with my dad
And his old friend, Jim Wise
He’s on house arrest
And he sits around inside
We brought him food from Panera Bread
The snoring sun rolled out of bed
He talked about his '90 Corvette
His warehouse job and his knee replacement
Jim Wise mercy-killed his wife
In a hospital at her bedside
Then he put the gun to his head
And it jammed and he didn’t die
Awaits trial all summer long
And his eyes welled up when he told us
About how much she loved the backyard garden
And the budding rosebush
She loved the garden
And its budding rosebush
Spent the day with my dad
And his friend, Jim Wise
Spent the day with my dad
And his old friend, Jim Wise
He’s got a big, thick ankle bracelet
And he can’t go outside
He’s got a long white Amishman’s beard
And a catheter
And he’ll be headed to Mansfield Prison
By the end of the year, for sure
His shelves are sticky, old, ratty books
His albums are The Doors and Stevie Nicks
His kitchen cabinets are full of baked beans
His TV is silent, words flash across the screen
And he stares off into dead air
Jim Wise killed his wife out of love for her
At her bedside
And then, he put the gun to his head
But he failed at suicide
His trial’s coming up in the fall
And he sighed when we stepped out and we left
And I pointed out the pretty cardinal
Perched on the empty birdbath
The bright red cardinal
The empty birdbath
I spent today with my dad
And his friend, Jim Wise