She Will Miss Me Eye Roll

Please come she urges me; I have attended before. A high school class reunion which I have never enjoyed. I will not be enticed to attend another. The last two were busts, taking me away from my loves. Poetry, painting, cartooning, and family. At my age, my exit ticket could get punched at any moment. How unsatisfactory would it be to get it punched After spending four hours on the road to and from people I would not recognize or say “hello to” on a New York street. I will not be there, I tell her. I have a life to live, minutes that are expiring. I will utilize every second of my spare time to uplift and nurture myself. I will miss you she says. I scoff. The last three times I have texted to ask when she can talk she has texted back “I will have to think about it.”