For Official Use Only

For Official Use Only 

The clerk at the superior court where you file
For divorce does this every day. Shuffles papers, 
Double-checks signatures, asks each one—mostly alone
But sometimes in pairs—to confirm this is really
What they want. Some people fluster or curse,
Others weep quietly. He doesn’t have to ask, 
It’s not an official question. He asks anyway, 
Then counter-signs on the empty “Witness” line. 
A small accompaniment on any given weekday.