Catalyst

The burning bitter taste of black coffee and rum

in my Punisher mug

as I sit perched on top of the counter, staring down at the roses you sent

Deep red

wilting in shame at their failure to persuade me of your changes

The pain is

all yours

Never mind the words we shared

on late night walks along Lake Michigan

The bet that won you our first kiss

under the tree that I later grew to love more than you.

The growing gray light of a morning close to the sky in Chicago

as I go

through reasons of why I cannot answer the door when you knock

knock

I pull a petal off of the only rose that looks living

folding it between my fingers until its chemicals turn it black and dying like its peers

Black

like the last drop of coffee I feel on my tongue

as I taste its bitter end.