If you loved me
you would leave me.
Knowing when to let go
is one aspect of love.
When the bond
no longer meshes—
but ties.
When conflict resolution
is not working.

The drip drip drip
of a slow torture
slowly erodes
the psyche
and irritates
the esteem
and bores
the soul.

Resentment builds blocks
of hidden hostility
until a small push
demolishes the fake façade.
Intimacy collides with autonomy.

The passive aggressive depressive
suffers ambush anxiety
and gives way
to the showdown.
Reconciliation is blasted away
on a battlefield
lined with legal weapons.

Misery unites with
anger and blame.
Law interpreters
give a choice between
complacency and contempt.
Let’s make a deal.

The shattered globes of marriage
have sprinkled and shredded
shards of broken promises,
slashes and cuts,
across the white ceremony.
The hollow ring
of cracked wedding bells
sound the failed knell.

The—happy ever after—lie.
Compatibility is
just a fairy tale
from an out of date
story book.
Time out.