I don’t blame you for leaving me
I see your new boyfriend around sometimes
he seems nice,
always says hello
and I think he’ll make you happy.
You said any clothes you’d left at the house
could go to the charity shop
and the lady in Barnados beamed such a smile
when I came in with a bin bag under each arm.
I took every DVD we ever watched together to the man on the market
sold them for a pound each and made enough
to buy a new pair of trousers
that are really comfy.
I don’t even mind sleeping alone.
I never got used to being woken by you grinding your teeth
or setting the alarm for six every morning.
And when you returned your key
you could have just dropped it through the letter box
but you didn’t, you rang the bell,
came upstairs, told me about your day,
checked your emails like you still lived here,
poured yourself a glass of wine
and didn’t mention that I was drinking alone.
And when you made me promise to keep the house tidy
to Toilet Duck the U-bend
and regularly scrub the hob
for some reason I didn’t feel patronised, I just thought
being with you was the best thing
that ever happened to me.
And I do try to keep the house clean
and I do take out the recycling every second Monday
and I do water your plants
and I do forward your post
and I do know I’ll meet someone new
and that there’s no rush
and I do hope that you’re happy
but sometimes when I think about you
it makes me feel a bit sick.