Having Discarded All For Love Poem by Charles Chaim Wax

In the end
a man without love
withers
so we sat in Ruby’s Bar and Grill
3: 20 in the morning
dawn years away
listening to the sad tale
of Bob Bigley.
“I bought her a Chevy, ” he said,
“wasn’t good enough
so traded in for a Caddy
she liked that
two weeks later
she wanted a different color.”
We stared at Bob Bigley
tears streaming down his face
a man plunged
into the depths of pain
“Then she wanted another man
and then another woman
I can’t go through all these changes
I said but she said
she’d have me whacked if I made trouble
told her I didn’t want trouble
because
I loved her
then came the strip club
showed her tits to strange men
and phone calls
in the middle of the night
couldn’t sleep
couldn’t work
next she said she was bringing
her three kids up from Florida
and I had to set up a trust fund
to send each one through college
and I said what kids are these
and she said my kids
and then the number went from
three to six.”
Suddenly Bob Bigley
reached into his pocket
took out a small bottle
and began to unscrew the cap.
“I’ll kill myself
I will
I really will...”
“That’s no way
to get a woman, ” said George Sturcke
grabbing the brown bottle.
“Try some of these.”
“What are they? ”.
“Aspirins, ” Sturcke informed him.
“I’m going to sleep now, ”
said Bob Bigley
sliding off his chair
onto the floor
where he curled up
into the fetal position
and a moment later
snored loudly
in a place
where life
went well,
or so
I hoped.