no reaction
while she told the story
only took notes in ballpoint blue.
What does he think of me she wonders
same old story once again
angry neglected wife, lover, girlfriend, sister
girl next door
simply retrace the notes from case 179 or 254
or just a shopping list
cucumbers, cream cheese, loaf of wheat bread
or some random word repeated
a thousand times – arpeggio
arpeggio, arpeggio.
Ask a single question
why let me babble on this way?
She could have summed it up in a phrase –
he told me to stick it, and not for the first time,
so I did.
(originally appeared in Yes, Poetry)
