My lover left me for a handsome man.
She said that she was done with lazy love,
and instead; she wanted to work
for his arms in the evening.

My mother left me at the grocery store.
She said that she had nothing left to give me
past the shelves of fruits bathed
under artificial light.

My friend left me for the city nights.
He put a needle in his arm to see
if he was still human; to see
if sensation was still available at all.

My teacher left me with multiple choices.
He said that he had grown half-blind,
because beauty faded in his wife's demise.
Now, there was nothing worth seeing.

My father left me with photo frames.
Forced pictures of frozen life,
with bones eaten by cancer
and a future left unconfirmed.

My job left me in poverty.
It tethered me to caustic chemicals;
stripping my flesh, interrupting sleep,
withering youth before its time.

My former lover left me with memories
polluting each home-town street.
She passes across the road in traffic fumes;
emerging red-coated in my mind.

My cat left me for a sweet release.
She lay down her head and bid farewell
to a world of little experience
but that of my paternal love.

My life left me for a more worthy cause.
All potential spread to another, as I elected
avoidance; pushing out all friends
and leaving just memories.