along with his dog tags
they gave her his watch
hands stuck in perpetuity
behind broken glass

she took the ribbon from her hair
and tied it to the buckle
kissed the inside of the leather
which still smelled like him
leaving a lipstick print there
and wedging her diamond in
behind the shattered glass

burying it all in his cousin’s yard
by the light of a sobbing moon
the home they planned to buy on his return
which would not be now
neither home nor return would be now
or ever

rest in love, she whispered
the watch settled into its earthen tomb

she never heard his “I do”
she never heard his “I do”