Dear Bert

Dear Bert,

I’m writing to you from the window

Where we so often sat

Gazing at the denizens

Of this street we call Sesame

Open, open

We would beg our hearts

And yet

They submitted

Refusal after refusal

Many was the night

Where I would get into my tiny bed

Praying that your oval-shaped head

Would swivel my way

That long line of a mouth

Absent lips

Would break apart

And beg me

To give you the warmth

Of my affection

But alas

Twas not to be

For as Shakespeare

Kept his lovers at odds

Til comedy’s end

We would find ourselves

Like the characters of his tragedies

Begging for another fate

But knowing ours is of

The predetermined sort

I’m writing this letter

Knowing

That as quill dips to paper

You, yourself

Are dipping your toes

Into unwelcome water

For while Ms. Dawn

May be blossoming into a young woman

And catching the eye

Of many on the street

We both know that her prairie

Is not the one

That shall drive your heart west

Why has her heart settled on yours

Other than the cruelty of intention

She snarls at me

And thinks I do not see

Just the other day

We were working our way

Through the Lord’s alphabet

When I felt a strange heat

Upon my backside

And lo, it was a cigarette

Clenched by the claws

Of that maven little moppet

She swore it was an accident

And that she’s been

Meaning to quit

But I knew no such truth

Her marble eyes

Are the only honest thing

About her

And as our friend would say--

She only has one, ONE thing

On her mind

--And it’s envy

She wants you Bert

All for herself

That’s why you’ve vacated

Our spot of comfort

In this hurtful world

You said that it’s only natural

For roommates

To separate eventually

So many jabs

It was as though

I found myself

In a fencing match

Natural

Roommates

Separate

Tell yourself all the fairy tales you like, Bertram

But we both know that you could never be happy

With that pixie stick

And her high-pitched prattling

You may as well check yourself

Into the nearest trash can

And resign your spirit

To that of a garbage-grasping

Misanthrope

Perhaps the world will you find you funny that way

But I never will

I’ll miss you

And you conical expressions

That adorable winged-rodent dance you do

And the way you try and convince me

That you’re cross with me

When we both know

It’s passion, not frustration

That makes you cry out in the night

As the sheep are escorting you

Out of our bedchamber

Dear Bert, I fear my heart

Will never know another

But I have to try

I’ve invited a comedian over tonight

To tell me jokes

And attempt to lift my soul

From its barren despair

Oh, he’s nothing like you

For one thing, he’s a bear

And technically

He belongs to a different division

But now isn’t the time

For brand awareness

Now is the time for love

At least--for me

Farewell, my dearest

I hope you find peace

Somewhere far, far down

The street

And may the sunny days

Sweep all your clouds away

I can’t tell you

How to get to where you’re going

But I hope you make it there

All the same