Nancy

Mrs. Laughlin! What a treat! Has it been
Two dozen years since we sat on this very
Curb, and smoked and talked throughout
The night, two adults like high-school kids,
Too eager to know what we had, and loath
To quit to go back home and break the magic?
Still we did, but, afterward, you kept me close.
You came to take me on your errands, sat me
In your kitchen as our daughters squeaked
And squirmed outside. You brought me to
Your bedroom, and you dressed yourself
In front of me. I wasn't sure what I should do.
You wanted me to help you with your papers
Asking for divorce. You may have loved me.
I loved you, but you, a cat, knew how to land,
And, in the end, you understood that you,
The fading trophy wife, were cornered,
And it wasn't wise to fight to be left destitute.
Do you still live inside that mansion? Does
He still belittle you, not least by porking
Ingenues? It's too late now for me to come
To share a cigarette and say that I will
Love you. You're aware that I am lacking
Wherewithal. You dare not try to run from
Him. You're here. Hello. You still are
Lovely. Even so, two dozen years have
Passed. You don't mean much to me.
Stay with him. I guess you should,
And I will go the way you went when
I said I'd look after you. My love wasn't
Fungible. Every one of his checks is. You
May as well stay in that house. I'll go home,
And you can, too. We are no longer
High-school kids. We're nothing much at all.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 69 times
Written on 2016-08-04 at 01:49

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