We’re both lonely
In need of something taking up space between sheets
In need of company we can’t seem to keep…
I used to think the two decades wedged between us caused the problem
But it was the betrayal of the people who claimed to love us
The Til Death Do Us Part you had to smother between the pillow and your face
Preventing us from keeping the loneliness out of our dreams
Or the tragedy of lost love from our minds.
We would hold each other close in a wine-induced stupor
Wondering how many Old Chicago visits it would take to erase their names
Wondering why Forever was a ticking bomb, ready to destroy cities
Or create universes—or destroy cities—
She had destroyed your world,
Your forever becoming the shrapnel of promises and the residue of I do’s.
You wanted to teach me that Cupid only made puncture wounds with clumsy arrows
And that vows, honeymoons, long nights,
Were only the thoughts of madmen.
I entered your life too late to make any feeling more than a stand-up
A stand-up where I’m the joke and no one’s laughing but you.
Isioma West 