Interlude: Sad

I’ve been dropping you

Off at everybody’s house

And coming home

Alone

You hitch a ride back

With someone

You just met

And kiss me on the head

While you head up to bed

Saying you’ve had

A long night

I’m the thing between

Your money

And your satisfaction

That breaks up

The night

I’m an interlude

I’m what keeps you

From going

Sad

You ask me

How many drinks

I’ve had tonight

But I don’t answer

Because I know

You just wanted me

To register

The question

You just wanted

To make your objections known

To me numbing

To me knocking myself out

In a house too big

For two people

Who used to hold each other

So close

They only needed

A small blanket

And a few promises

Once we could afford a car

We bought a car

Once we could afford

To go away

We stayed

Because you had work

You had to stay on the game

You had to make sure

The new gang coming up

Didn’t take your place

So instead

We bought more things

And when we ran out of room

For the things

And the cash

And the space

We needed

To suddenly stay away

From each other

We bought a house

And you would ask me

To give you rides

To other houses

In places

We would never have lived

Even in the worst of times

And I’d drop you off

And listen to a story

About why you had to be there

And for how long

And when you were

Going to come home

The worst secret

I own

Is that the last time

I left you
I didn’t want you

To find your way

Home

You came through the door

And you looked at me

Like the minute

It was going to take you

To get from where you were

To upstairs

In the bed

I don’t sleep in

Anymore

Was going to be

A thousand years long

And ten miles away

But really

I’m just

An interlude

One time

A long time

Ago

When I was happier

Than I’d ever been

In my life

You asked me

If I was

Happy

And I didn’t know

How to answer

Because

I’d never been

Happy

And not knowing

If I was

Felt like

Maybe

I was happy

So I said ‘Yes’

And now

I want you

To ask me

Again

Now I want

To know

That you noticed

The blanket

Isn’t even big enough

To cover me

There’s going to be

A break

But who will break?

Which one of us

Is going

To take

The break?