The Emotions of Divorce/Poetry

Photo by Catherine Tappouni Burkee

When two become one, moods go from stunned to sad to angry and then to the choice of moving on healthy or moving on damaged. This poem was written when I was looking at my moods and set them in poetic form. It seemed to be written to my mate, but was more self-talk then anything. If you are experiencing separation or divorce or betrayal of some kind, try writing. I guarantee you, it will help reveal your true feelings and being the healing. I'd love to hear back from you.

Strange Music

I can’t listen to Carly, Emmylou, Bruce,
or even
Elvis—his spirituals would make me cry, or worse, cast stones at God.
I am awash
in Pavarotti and Callas,
Butterfly
in her death scene.

My car ascends
the bridge,
open windows casting Verdi across the water like black pearls.

Ahead, lawyers are
waiting on the top floor of their pyramid,
permanent ink at the ready.
They are too clean, too crisply arrayed
for this tragedia.

Give me grand gestures,
spectacle worthy of thirty-eight years story and music

complete with a cast of thousands weddings, baptisms, funerals—breakfasts, lunches, dinners, banquets, PTA spaghetti suppers kisses—lovemaking in beds in winter on the floor in front of the fireplace in spring, on a blanket in the back yard, once accompanied by a howling cat on the wall once in a foreign country in a bathtub at 3 a.m. once, after a long drought at your sister’s, in a rest-stop with the baby asleep on the back seat, and once, in our 40s, at the beach where a cop shined his light on us, smiled and walked away—at least 20 photo albums worth of life—together—why do I think of this now when anger is a much more companionable emotion? Now you sleep with her, wherever—


It’s the same with my garden, you know.
Only orchids, bromeliads, vines lush with fushcia
petals feel at home.
Homely violets, daisies, even mums
part company with me in these days
of exotic drinks
laced with baritones hinting at homicide.

In place of doves, crows
haunt my porch, and so they should.
One taste of Wagner and they’ll feel right at home.