Looking at how
He treated her,
A stark epiphany:
He never respected her.
Something so elemental,
Taken for granted,
Love, professed but
Not demonstrated.
It all becomes clearer.
An uneasy sense
Of impending dread
Permeates her being.
She got the inevitable call,
The one where they unilaterally
Announce they’re coming.
Time to clean too much
So that no ill-advised
Comments are uttered.
Always such a pleasure
To have them inevitably
Descend upon her.
When the conversation
Predictably becomes
One-sided, he decides
That this is the last
Time he’ll endure it and
That it is necessary
To interrupt this
Exhausting cycle.
Eventually pulling back,
Putting some distance
Between him and the chaos,
Disorienting cacophony of
Scattered turmoil,
Confused muttering,
Rash reactions to undefined
Challenges, seeing the
Spectacle for what it is,
The disorder of wounds
Unhealed, dictating reaction,
A whirl of activity
Leading nowhere but distress,
Arriving at different points
For disparate reasons.
Tell me your secrets and
I’ll show you mine,
I keep them in a
Nondescript box
Hidden in the attic.
Hold me on your shoulders,
Maybe that way I’ll grow
Taller than I think I am.
Lift me higher than possible and
Let go as I take flight.
There’s a small restaurant I
Particularly enjoy. Carefully prepared,
Hearty fare, deeply satisfying and
Unstuffy. Interesting people talking
Animatedly about the latest goings on.
Smiling faces, delightful company.
Time passes with casual unhurriedness.
You walk in.
After many lengthy,
Fruitless conversations,
Actually arguments,
They arrive at the same place
They’ve always been,
Neither understanding the other’s
Point of view or what’s
Really happening underneath
All the bluster,
No prospect of ever
Changing anything,
Two closed minds.
Doing nothing at all
And still enjoying
Each other’s company.
Thoughtful conversations
Imbued with empathy,
Listening, depth.
Silly jokes
About anything
And everything.
He relives not only
The trauma,
But also the expectation
That it remain a secret
So as not to blemish a
False image of respectability,
Along with being told
It was his fault
In the first place,
That situations like this
Are normal anyway,
Forcibly wiring his forming brain,
Ensuring a lifetime of torment.
