colin kept clean syringes
fastened in his briefcase
just in case he needed closure
they'd be close at hand
mel made scrumptious banquets
set the table just for two
kept her strychnine in the kitchen
sealed in vacuum-tight containers

mel and colin lived precariously on edge from day to day
mel and colin didn't speak because they had nothing to say
mel and colin didn't speak because their minds worked the same way

colin knotted ropes and cords
and hung them on his closet door
stashing part of his collection
in the backseat of his car
mel stole old prescriptions
from her sickly coworkers
safe behind the bathroom mirror
ready to cure everything

faced with each other they
silently vowed they would
both stick together through
thickest and thin
faced with the rest they
cradled each other one
hand on a razor
antifreeze a pin
sometimes the knife cut
but it never went in

colin's cubicle was sparse
words on his computer screen
on the phone his voice was plastic
cyanide tucked in his palm
mel scanned produce at the market
trigger finger taut and trained
scanning with her eyes in sockets
shrunken from the wash cycle