all your therapists tell you that secretly, you hate
yourself, this is how you part ways,

the basis of unintentional
dislike – a person explaining
you have reason to be unloved

no surprises here, you
love a man who rolls off your body

for greener pastures, you
fall in love with the taste
of other women.

you know years have passed because
the songs on the radio change,

you don’t know any of the words,
but all the other women are still in love with a
handsome man,

you smoke in the kitchen, pretending
you have quit,

you know years have passed because
the price has changed, the neighbours no longer
sit on the porch,

they have fallen into open graves.
the woman you love stops returning

your calls, you smoke a pack a day,
redefine love, stop inhaling
as if it matters