unholy matrimony

they say that’s how it should be
this ancient turn of phrase
we stand before the alter free
then fog descends, a haze

forget her ‘with this ring i wed’
her thoughts aren’t needed here
after all, she’s the paper doll
reduced. diminished. veneered.

loneliness piles up like dirt
then spread across the years
she sings her pain, heartbreak, and hurt
notes lost. they’ve fallen on deaf ears

you said you knew her capable
to do it all, you “guessed”
assumption inescapable
she drowned in sorrow’s mess