I’ve lost inches

In size

And miles

In synchronicity

Devoured,

Denigrated

By bottles

And pills

And men who discarded me

With Tuesday’s trash

On their way for the morning paper

I’ve seen amber lights

Flash

From the loops of my mind

 In spirals

Of kisses stolen

As the snow came down

And

Our breath hovered by the open door

Of a stale kitchen

Like fog on water

Or the haze across a crowded bar;

I saw your shoes

From beneath my car door

Red stripes

White laces

You pulled gravel from my hair

As the tears fell hard

And

Still you didn’t leave me

You never soured on my habits

Or my bedroom hair

Or the rings of black

That circled tired eyes early in the morning

You watched me waver down hallways

Naked

Less than perfect

Older

And less elegant than

The women you were used to

But

Everyone absconds

Eventually

You’re leaving was no

Surprise

(I don’t know much about staying)

No matter anyway;

As my heart has descended

To the customary pose

Of absolute

Inertia