prison food

we always say if ‘x’ happened

i’d never be able to go on living

or

if ‘y’ occurred i couldn’t live with

myself any longer

and

if she were to change her number,

delete her e-mail address, move

to the same city as me yet remain

invisible to me, there’s no way

i’d live to see another day

yet

here i am-

certainly, the worst part is

that we do live

isn’t it?

isn’t it

sick the diseases we share

without even realizing it?

if i could just push a button, swallow

a pill

then forget

i would do it

sans pain

and i would embrace the 'change'

and ask for no receipt