Thirty Years Later, They Still Chat

They lived in a rented house
On his moderate income
With her furniture and cat,

And it was a nice small house,
Suburban, with hardwood floors,
And they shared a little car,

And were still more or less young,
And still more or less in love
And content with each other,

So they might have been content
With that life as well, you’d think,
But no, of course not. They were

Hopeful he would land a job
With a better salary
And a little more prestige

Back in her hometown. They were
Anxiously waiting to hear.
Then he got the interview.

He landed the job! Her cat
Had to be put down. They found
A pretty nice apartment

To rent, next to her hometown.
They bought new appliances
And a new mattress. A car

That was bigger and better
Came next, also a kitten.
They were set. And they broke up.

There’s more to their tale than that.
Everything had a reason.
That first cat was very sick.

The old mattress was way old.
Her parents supported them
Some, not just his salary.

He wanted marriage and kids.
She came out of the closet.
He wanted to change careers,

Move somewhere in the mountains.
They broke up to do all that.
They compared notes afterwards.

Other partners, other cars,
Other states, other houses,
Other cats. Reason’s like that.