Sometimes You Cannot Say Goodbye Loud Enough

We bumped into each other at the car show in Arvada

It had been at least twenty years since

She left me for a guy she met in a casino in Nevada

We exchanged awkward pleasantries like exes do

Talked a bit about our past, briefly

I noticed she had a scar where she once had a tattoo

She asked me if I was still wasting time painting and writing 

I told her I was as there was no off switch

And the desire to express myself was never a spurious thing

"That was one of many reasons I left, if I can speak frankly"

Emphasizing the word 'many' as if it was vulgar

"You never wrote even one of those poems for me."

"True," I replied, "But relationships have never been my motivation"

And smiling, added, "I'm more inspired by the metaphysical"

But to myself I said "Who wants to write about emotional castration?"