I Can See

I can watch the blister
of your mouth turn,
insult after tragedy, watch
the foiled plot
of your anger express itself.
But I do nothing.

Having spent the night alone
I wonder where you have been
which does not mean I care
but which echoes habit,
that long lost treasure.

Soon my eyes will glaze
and I will see nothing
as you walk through the passages
of a new life giving over stars
as currency, the rich woman
with the fixed smile red-lipsticked

over blue eyes full giving her all
as that all that mattered
was salutation, a brief hello, the crisp note
of anger diminished
as you take another drink
waiting for sex at midnight.

John Cornwall

If you've any comments on this poem, John Cornwall would be pleased to hear from you.