Afterwards

He jumped up, turned on TV,
said nothing. He'd forgotten I was there.

I used a kitchen towel
to wipe blood off my thighs.

From behind I put my arms
around his seated form.

The intercom buzzed. His wife headed up.
He barked: Get out, take the stairs, use the back door.

I stuffed my underpants
deep in a trash can,
wandered uptown
to my sister’s place.
I showered.
No one was home.