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serene ([personal profile] serene) wrote2015-04-04 10:23 am

Poem-a-day challenge for April 4, 2015

Poem-a-day challenge for April 4, 2015
(Prompt: "write a departure poem." I used an old poem that fits the theme; I don't think I've ever posted it before.)



Off-kilter

She slams the door;        she doesn't want to hear
Your listing side of what went on. 
                                               	Your story
Morphs to fit your latest lie. 
                                          In every
                Tilted detail—
                          your lost car keys, the gear-
Shift that wouldn't—
       you try to use her fear
Of losing you. 
               You know, it's worked before;
                        You only have to bide your time. 
                               	You hurry  
        To catch her in the driveway;                    	she's not there.

You spin around two times, your ankle  turns.
The blacktop is more solid than you thought—
No quicksand, nothing keeping her with you.
You never wondered "What if she should learn
To live without me?" But you know she's caught
A cab to someplace solid. Someplace new.