I swore as I walked in that this would be the last time.
I’d sworn this before, of course.
Last year.
But it had not been the last time, nor even close.
But last year we were still getting away with it.
Neither his wife nor my husband had any idea.
Well, maybe an idea, but nothing like now.
Besides, it was getting tiresome.
Another thing I had to do, like a second marriage.
All the same reasons I’d strayed in the first place reasserted themselves.
That restless feeling of vague dissatisfaction.
That unanswerable question is this all there is?
An elegantly drawn picture, Joshua
…AND pretending to be a woman – That’s PROPER dishonesty!
Trapped twice over, and what to do next?
That is always my question in these situations, how does changing the landscape erase the inevitability of every day life. People are people. If your current wife gripes about your ways why would another not do the same?
Dear Josh,
So true to life. We tend to repeat mistakes with different people. Like saying, I’ll never be like my mother, only to realize 50 years later I’m more like her than I care to admit. And i hear Peggy Lee singing “Is That All There Is”…then let’s keep dancing. Well written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
You’ve really captured the nuances of emotion here. I particularly liked the impending menace of “Well, maybe an idea, but nothing like now”. And then the concluding angst – she might almost be saying WTF.
Wasn’t it Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different result
Vividly painted.
Trying to add some excitement to her life and all it did was give her another type of routine. Makes one wonder if she (and he) left more clues for their spouses in an effort to create some excitement of another sort. Sad, really.
Mind wants to experience and explore what is forbidden even at the cost of great danger. Nice poem.
I like the voice of the story teller, think it’s subtle, and leaves us with a trail of intriguing clues about what’s going on.
Goes to show that nothing is permanent.
Sticking with what you have is better and no messes to clean!
Maybe she’s just trying to find true love. Good luck with that, says my cynical head. Keep trying, says my romantic head. Or maybe she should just get a hobby instead. The voice was clear and convincing.
If only people could learn that the one we’re married to will take a lifetime to truly understand, and that is why the magic doesn’t die. It’s when we quit trying that it’s no longer magic.
What a tangled web we weave…good job portraying the limbo of discontent this chacter is stuck in.
Conflicting emotions are well portrayed and we get a rare instance of insight. Nice take on the prompt. .