anathema

I asked you
why you thought
a home deli slicer
was necessary

You said you had
your reasons

I never saw you
eat a sandwich
but you suddenly
wanted to make them
en masse

A new hobby
of sorts;
or an old one

20 years later
you had freezers
stored with spoiled
Swiss and American
cheese,
turkey and bologna
and Leberkäse
labeled with
permanent marker
from 1997

I realized, too late, that
you just enjoyed
eviscerating things;
reducing everything
into smaller pieces
instead of compiling
them into something
bigger

My fingers were next
when I pointed this out
because putting things
together
was anathema
to you