Prompt: Write an instructional poem.

What To Do After She Dumps You

Wait.

And when you think you’re ready
to move on, wait some more.

At least until you no longer have
the urge to drive past her house
at night to see the red Honda parked
in the driveway. Or worse, her car
and that blue BMW you saw last week.

She is doing what she wants
to do now and so should you.

Start a hobby, or better yet,
go back to an old hobby—the one
you abandoned when you started
to get serious. She liked you better
when you had your own
interests, your own friends.

You liked you better.

When you look into the mirror
after brushing your teeth, say hello
to the guy that attracted her in the first
place—with his untamed smile and dancing
eyes, whose heart was unadorned
by guard dogs and chicken wire.

But whatever you do,
don’t call,
don’t email,
don’t send midnight messages
just to say ‘Hi’. You’re feeling
in the dark for a switch
that isn’t there. Her slim hand is not
going to reach out and guide
you back to safety. You’ll have to fumble
and stumble, and prop yourself up
along the wall, and grope
your way toward the light.

It’s there.
Keep reaching.

 

~Pamela L. Taylor © 2013