Death Without a Casserole

Thank you to Marilee Mansfield, whose marvelous metaphor for divorce inspired me to write this poem. You left Just for a little while, And when you came back We tried to take up just where we had been, But you weren’t the same. And you left again.... Longer this time, And I really missed you But your letters sounded happy When you described the new place Where I wasn’t there. The connections we had together No longer come to visit. Some joined your new life And others just feel too uncomfortable To spend much time in your empty space. The person that was our marriage Died without a funeral, No flowers and no casket, No singing and no wake, No covered dishes brought by friends, And only one mourner.