Articles of clothing,

One shoe there,

Another maybe there,

A purse,

A hat,

Empty glass,

Melting ice,

Still smoking cigar,

A fire smoldering in the hearth,

Another smoldering in her heart.

A sudden phone call and he was gone,

The tracks in the snow still warm,

The car miles down the road,

The man returning to his wife.

She was tricked by his words,

His promises,

His charm.

He was unfaithful to her,

And to his wife,

And he’d lied to both.

She felt foolish,

Young,

Betrayed,

Spoiled.

She would learn from this

And would be jaded in future affairs,

She would never have a first again,

And she had wasted it on him.

If only she could go back and

Return to innocence,

And happiness.

She had wanted to be grown up,

To have an adult relationship,

It had been so glamorous,

A cabin in the mountains,

A weekend to themselves,

But one call had ruined it all,

He had confessed his lies,

He hadn’t left his wife after all.

He wasn’t single,

He wasn’t available,

He wasn’t hers.

And so now,

This bitter and hurting young women,

Has learned what many already know,

The pain of being left.

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