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Sonnets From Other Lives: Elke

In the labyrinthine showrooms of Ikea
she sees them wending—vacant eyed & lost.
She’ll be stocking SMYCKA table lamps & see a
middle aged man measuring the cost
of the NYVOLL bed frame vs the FJELLSE
with a face somewhere between confused
& woebegone. Sometimes they ask for help. She
smiles professionally—somewhat bemused
by their predicaments. The KARLSTAD sofa-
bed is practical for sure but the KIVIK
is so much more chic I think & goes a
lot better with your POANG armchair. Pick
your new life carefully-- she thinks. Of course
the old one was commandeered in the divorce.