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The Wake

by Edward Ahern

There you are at last,
On the far side of the kneeler.
Finely dressed as always,
Poker-faced as ever.
There’s so much I need to tell you.

I know you got her pregnant
And made me grow a stranger.
I know you bribed our clients
And sold their loyalty off.
I know you wrecked my life.

And I held my silence.
For her sake.
For the business.
For your ever-breeding wife.
For my pathetic image.

But here you are at last,
Plump and pasty,
Dead to me now.
Oblivious of the wrongs,
Uncaring of the hurts.

No, don’t stand up yet.
Hold that bogus sadness
Just a few seconds more
While I savor the thought
Of watching your arrival.


Copyright © 2017 by Edward Ahern

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