Two months ago her bar closed down.
She slides the ring across the counter
“How much? It’s a real diamond.
Got it before that bastard left
Back when he still held my hand.”
Patting her ass
When this is my only asset
You’ll give no more than
Ten cents on the dollar
Hardly enough for a good meal
.
I’m moving in with a guy down the road
Corse, it is still up in the air
I've no aces to play
And all the options of the have-nots.
The guy agrees it will be better
Only one rent left unpaid.
Perhaps I will get a pizza with this pile of cash
See how it goes with the old fart
And his potbelly dog
He has two bedrooms
And a single TV.
Of course, it could be the other way
The other way around.
He talks about gettin wireless soon
And knows where they serve lunch
In a Methodist church.
On Tuesday afternoon.
All my clothes in a few brown bags
In the middle of an empty kitchen
Leaving behind my pots
Cause he has enough
And doesn’t want his stuff getting mixed up with mine.
I’ll let the old cat out
He came with the house
the old man says his dog
Will not abide by the old puss.
She shakes the knob
And stares back through a window
At what is home no more
And glances at the keys on the counter
And remembers the cat’s milk
In the fridge door.
She walks away, arms full, head down,
Leaving behind her only real friend
Her neighbors all sheltered in place
With even their pets safe inside.
Roe
April 2020
