Revisionist

“The present wins every battle, but the past always wins the war,” Mick Herron, The Secret Hours 

“It was a successful marriage,” his sister said. 
“We bought a house, raised two kids...”
Sharon let the history hang there,
an almost visible ellipsis suggesting a future
of one accomplishment after another,
each succeeding victory outdoing the others.

Bobby only nodded, not in agreement,
remembering the howling fights, the infidelities,
the tears and picked-up pieces,
but why argue? Why disagree?
Whatever’d happened happened,
no changing any of it now.

If it helped her to rearrange
the living room furniture,
then who was he to tell her 
she’d misplaced the coffee table
beside the wrong chair?