dirty goodbyes,
head hung,
almost shame?

sweating forehead,
wiped his brow,
smiled--
half-assed.

said "keep in touch"
"we should write"
all the
right things.

i did not cry.
he did not cry.

rotten man?.
i don't know, really.

sleeping in my bed,
i find myself picking lint from his hair
and covering his torso.
nurturing,
maternal almost.

puts his arm around me in the night,
familiar like a lover,
almost.

we spend all day tossing
and turning and laughing and fighting
and looking away and looking dead-on.

but he had to go,
they all go.
i stay here,
usually.
they're always the ones to leave
to go back
home.

i am home.
sort of.

and he is gone
til don't know when.
left strawberry icecream in my freezer,
three dollars for the beer.

long hug, he drives away.

i do not cry.

just one more dirty goodbye.

06/26/2007

Posted on 06/26/2007
Copyright © 2024 Lauren Singer