The end of the beginning of the end

family saga

 

He said "Hello."

She smiled, and sipped and feigned disinterest

and he fell.

 

Laughter lit her lips

as he whispered in her ear

"You have absinthe eyes."

 

She giggled as she gushed

about all the ways that he was

Wonderful!

 

He interrupted her

only to remark upon her

radiance.

 

Love sworn eternal

a spark becomes a fire

and a new life begins

 

Spontaneity wanes

as reality arrives,

needing diapers.

 

The spark begins to sputter

as the baby learns to speak,

demanding,

 

more and more.

The mystery unravels,

exposing the foundation.

 

His meetings run late

while her cocktail hour

begins earlier each day.

 

"Honey, don’t wait up.

I’ll be late".

He struggles to sound disappointed.

 

As he hangs up the phone,

he notices her

as she’s noticing him.

 

Nervously, he says "Hello."

She smiles and sips

and feigns disinterest.

Author's Note

Each stanza is a haiku.

Reviews

[Libby McKeown]

This sounds like the bio of most of my friends. I love this, Z. You capture these snippets and elegantly weave together a story from the air. Your mastery of simplicity is nothing short of genius. Quit making me jealous! I have to say that this poem reminds me of shish kabobs. Each stanza a delicious morsel, recognizable if not quite whole, then all deliciously skewered by a need to tell a story. Lightly season with words, then BAM! And the absinthe line is sharp! I wish I had some now. . .

[Emily B]

I grew up seeing the black and white , I was amazed when I began to see all the gray in between. . .

[Chloe Madison Taylor.]

halfway through i thought it was gonna be one of those "i love my wife but she hates me and our marriage sucks" poems. but it really did it for me in the end. =]

not sure what absinthe means.

but i like the poem.