Who came first doesn’t make much difference.
The more interesting question is who left first,
and when and how. Was it the one who cheated
and then regretted it, or the one who wanted to and didn’t?
The one who lingered too long at the gym to avoid home,
or the one who came in early and smoked weed
in front of the television? The one who fell asleep
on the sofa, or the one one who drank too much
alone on the back porch late at night when he
couldn’t sleep and there was no porn left to watch?
The one who finally walked out the door, or the one
who locked himself up inside? As far as the why,
that’s a pointless question too. They met, they
coupled, they separated, both, as a result,
a little better off, a little worse. Yellow roses
marked the beginning; red ones, the end.
Copyright 2018
T. Allen Culpepper