Manholes Poem by Anisa Tara

I long for you and them
Manholes with and without covers
Reminders of lovers lost
Defects in my street corner

Take a right and wonder
Is there someone else
Pierced with sorrow
I meander with this left

Only to remember
We started somewhere better
But all of it ends the same
Sewage reeking in the gutter

Every opening hopeful
I speak to a misplaced cover
Was all of me not enough
For you to call a lover

Not ready for a lid of its own
The people they scatter
For the rot of an almost love
As this open wound festers

But only for so long
The people now sneer
I put a lid on this love
Leave our histories here

These permanent reminders
Of my inherent inadequacies
I've had enough of longing
No more manholes for me