We forgot to say goodbye
Because we'd rather say "Hello"
Or "don't go."

The rose petals you scattered
Have long since disintegrated

And my mattress lies cold and shapeless
(You left, so I slept on the floor.)

Abandoned my body long ago
I was always so easy to ignore.

Paint spatters dried where we forgot
Drop cloths and rags.

And a heap wherein rests our painter's clothes-
awkwardly embraces the wall.

No masterpiece ever completed
We were struggling actors in our sick, sick
Production of love

And the curtain tore on our final bow.

Time does not reconcile with distance
And hearts do not heal with superglue,


or so I've been told.

01/22/2007