warts & all

he swore when he met her

that he’d love her forever,

warts & all---

sure, it was storybook

nonsense & even at the time

he promised it, she knew

it, but she wanted to believe it

& so she said “yes” &

she fell hard &

the wedding followed with

children following the

marriage soon thereafter. 

 

they attended parties when

they aged a bit, with the

kids at a babysitter’s &

one night she walked in on

him & her best friend who

was sitting up on the counter

in the kitchen with a beer in

one hand & her husband’s a*s

gripped in the other,

whilst they lip-locked,

moaning together,

oblivious to everything around

them,

including this woman who

had fallen apart right then &

there.

 

having turned round to leave

the kitchen, she decided to

keep it inside, for she didn’t

want to get in an argument with

her husband & she also decided

not to confront her best friend

about it, keeping it all inside &

this submissive behavior

increased throughout their marriage

as the years passed. 

 

and now, 20 years later, she

tells the story to her younger coworkers

who have younger significant others of

their own & cannot believe that she has

kept this inside all these years.

 

while her own experience acts as an

impetus for the younger women around her,

who listen to her because they respect her

& refuse to let the men in their own lives

do to them what has been done to her,

this woman’s life has had a hole that

started as small as a needle prick

in the greater scheme &

has grown into something so large

that it will sooner than later

swallow her whole.