once upon a time
there was a beautiful duo
and when it was good it was perfect
when it was bad it was hell

there were bright candles and mirrors
laughter and cool drinks
and hot summer nights making love by the water

and then there were dark marks floating like **** under the skin
screams and silences
curling into sheets

The man next door cried for his wife
she treated him like less than nothing and still he called her,
every hour
to hear her drunken laughter shouting through the telephone
you're lying, you're lying, he cried
and still he called to hear her voice
to see that she was still there

the duo listened through the wall,
one curled like a kicked cat at the foot of the bed
the other calmly flicking through magazine
hearing themselves played out in bangs and shouts
the despair floating in the air like *****.