Leaving us all behind for a week
we set the table forgetting
and had to remove
a fork
a knife
a napkin
a plate
a glass filled with dust.

The two women conversing at Starbucks
one had a dog
the other had a life to mend
a divorce on the table
next to a grande skinny vanilla
latte over ice
he was ice to her
slimy, cold, avoidable
spit out of your mouth.

So he said, I’ll take the kids for most of the week.
An inhale
Like, take the kids!
My kids. My money.
It’s my life. It’s my latte. It’s my dog.
And in her mind she saw herself walking the dog every morning
and slowly removing place settings
one fork after another.

Rusty forks lie in graves next to bones
and windows behind which families reside
they shatter one by one
as the world throws stones
for us to catch
and instead we let them crash
crack

When you came home
i ran into your arms
and we set the entire table
you ate with us a missing piece
you shared with us a story of a journey
and we sat here
in our whole house unmolested by divorces or money
just a table of food and unadulterated happiness
we spoke of money
napkins lying useless on laps
busy days and tired feet

I can’t believe. I just can’t believe we got here.
so fast like coffee flowing over ice
swirling with milk we ended here
at this crossroads
this fork
this afternoon on patios ringed with ivy
this moment of finality
this spirit of triumph
of winning your dreams, deceiving your heart
I’m not f***ing laughing
because there’s nothing funny about a closing
I’m chuckling at this unanticipated withdrawal.

Everyone, just thinks, they’re so worth it!
They aren’t.
we can tan in the sun
and our eyes can meet us halfway
we can lie in our lives
we can be integral in our dealings
but what we get dealt in return
is sometimes a construed hand
a one way piece of glass
and an inability to understand anything
outside
of our little world
of dirty napkins and cappuccinos.