You blew your temper,
Popped your cork,
Don't know
why…
Maybe it was the
Stench of Riley
In Joyce's
kitchen,
Or the rumor that
Dru had found
Yet
another-
Faithless whore!
(You ripped a door from its hinges.)
You grabbed the knob,
Forgot restraint,
Pulled.
The door
came off-
Wings from a butterfly.
Easy.
Joyce sagged
Against
the counter.
Hand at her temple.
"Something else to pay for!"
(She walked away from you.)
You stood stupidly,
Knob in hand,
Door at your feet,
Plaster and splinters
Settling 'round you-
"Let Roger
Ramjet fix it-
He's so bloody useful!"
You stomped
home,
Remembering Joyce's face…
"Not my soddin' problem!"
(You came back anyway.)
Your shame
Lay on the floor,
So you picked it up,
Broken
glass
In brittle piles
You'd never fixed
Anything
before,
But you tried,
Bloody hell,
You tried!
(But nothing worked.)
Before sunrise
Joyce joined you
On the back stoop,
Stepping
over
Broken glass,
Put her hand on
Your head where
You
crouched, smoking,
Shoulders hunched-
"Thank you for trying."
(Oh God, I didn't mean to.)
The two of you
Side by side
In the ruins
Birds begin
singing.
You stubbed out your fag,
Dug into your
pockets,
Giving her every
Dollar you had
To walk away,
Numb
in her forgiveness.