A Poem: For S----

Yesterday I received an e-mail from a friend who is filing for divorce from her husband. When I looked at the new Carry on Tuesday prompt -- a quote from Sir Joshua Reynolds, 18th century artist -- "A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts," I found myself thinking of S---- and her family.

Part of me is angry with her so-called husband, and part of me grieves for a family broken, dismantled, a friend in pain. So I had to write about it, "vent" it, let it flow through brain to pen to paper....

her room hung
with thoughts--
her mind wearily circling,
replaying,
rehashing:
her discovery.
his lies.
her betrayed tears.
more of his lies.

then truth seeped in,
dripping word
by word
by word
until all flooded--
flowing over the
doorframe marked with
heights of four children--
destroying them
in its wake.

coughing back furious sobs,
she told him
to leave,
standing
strong, firm
among the wreckage
of twenty years.

and so he left,
not looking back.

Copyright 2010 by Susanne Barrett