White elephant

I
Having outlived our
reciprocal usefulness,
we mull the stubborn
residue of the situation:

the nostalgia of remembering,
the impunity of forgetting,
how the past may
persuade the present,

but not indefinitely;
how time makes plain
what romance adorns.

The gifts we cherished
have become white elephants;
gold spun patiently into straw.

II
Choosing honesty,
we interrogate our
feigned innocence.

In truth, we agreed
to it all, secretly acquiesced.
Hardened our eyes,

sharpened our tongues,
apprenticed ourselves to
the hidden work

of undoing, as if
happiness lie
in another circumstance.

III
Of no use, now,
to each other,
what may we say?

That, utility redacted,
love becomes possible?

That still, we seek elsewhere,
and do not find?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tags: break-up, creative writing, divorce, friendship, growth, honesty, loss, love, poem, poetry, relationships, selfishness, separation