936

I have a married couple as friends
that are unraveling

the wife knows
and the husband pretends
he doesn’t know a thing

the children are afraid
of divorce
but I see their mother’s eyes
at three in the morning
on her patio

we will drink tonic water
and ask for vodka
and wonder where love goes
if it’s not nursed

I’m not married
and I’ve only loved twice
so I can’t offer
empathy or a shoulder
but she wouldn’t want either
so I say pithy things
with tobacco on my tongue
and a beer in my head

everything slips

you’ll find what you want
eventually

if you don’t
then breathe deep
and cry to whatever you want

I do it enough
but she says I’m a wreck
so don’t breathe
don’t cry
and maybe you’ll get
what you want
when you eventually gasp
for air