He said, I never told you
about the time a pen leaked in the pocket
of the new shirt you gave me for Christmas.
I worked and worked on it,
washing it over and over,
even used that special spray stuff,
and after a while, got most of it out,
till you couldn’t even notice
unless you looked very closely.

He said, I never told you
about the day I blew a bundle at the track.
I worked overtime, week after week,
even floated a loan from my brother,
and after a while, the money was back in our account,
so you didn’t even notice,
unless you looked at the balance.

He said, I never told you
about the affair,
although you may have suspected.
I broke it off after Christmas.
The heart you and I shared was leaking,
floating in its own damage.
I worked hard to put it back together,
returned my investment,
rubbed out the stain,
and now it’s almost good as new.
Unless you look more closely.

01/08/2002

Posted on 01/08/2002
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