I was a magnet for wounded men
You know the kind
Itinerant musicians
Down on their luck bikers
"The wife just up and left me." sad sacks

I attracted them for years
One after the other
Some showed up unannounced
Scruffy, thin, no money, scared
Just off a ***** and drug ******

I fed them
Washed their clothes
Told them the rules
NO DRUGS IN THIS HOUSE

They attached to me
Like refrigerator magnets
Tight, close, hanging on

Until
I peeled them off me
Sent them on their way
Some came back, some didn't

They don't show up anymore
Dead, living in another country
Or, locked up, I think

I am now the negative magnetic field
Sit, stand, over there
Not to close
I will not rescue you
I've gone out of that business

I'll drive you to rehab, the airport, the bus station
I won't part of your recovery,or getting on the plane or bus with you


Bonnie Harlan-Stankus    10/05/16