This Isn't Easy, But... by Jan Allen Correll

"This Isn't Easy, But...

by
Jan Allen Correll

I have something to tell you,"
You said.
A small explosion went off
In my head.
It blossomed and grew
Engulfing my senses.
I instantly knew
And lost my defenses.
This was the moment
I had been dreading.
Here. Now, before me.
Inescapable.
Reality.

An insidious chill crept
Over my body.
I waited in numbing
Anticipation
For the ice blade to fall.
To sever me
From our life. From all
I'd known
For half my life.
The pain we'd shared.
The years I'd cared
All over.
Gone.

Time was out of dimension.
It grew,
Misshapen, with elongated distention.
I knew
That moment in time,
I observed the scene
From a loftier climb.
Yet, feeling the pain
Of my mortal being,
I pitied the poor soul
There before me,
In shock.
Numb.

There was anguish on your face
As you spoke.
But was it pity for me
You evoked,
Or a torment of solace
For the marriage you're losing;
Our union erased,
The struggles and striving
We'd known in our lives?
An end to the thriving
Here and now,
Forevermore
Finished?

Still, I could not believe you'd
Do this to me.
I'm the one who held you up
When you were down.
The one who praised you,
Supported and cheered for you;
Stayed home
Alone, without complaint
When you worked late.
I took the shit
While you took the glory.
For what?
Redundancy?

You brutally struck
At my heart.
Your commitment to her was strong.
We must part.
There was no other way.
No bleeding heart.
Nothing more to say.
No going back.
No love. No ties.
We've come to the end.
No love to defend.
It's finished.
Dead.