Grudge

Grudge

Near to his heart,
In his shirt pocket
He carried a single grudge, 
A timeworn stone..

Married for thirty years
Then suddenly  not.
Every warning sign missed
Or maybe just ignored.

She stood next to him
Invisible for decades
Hoping against hope for a change
That never came.

Caught unaware
That something he owned
Would choose to walk away
Leaving all he never gave

The house was stripped
Not of possessions
She took so little
Only her clothes and his pride

Didn’t leave a note
Nothing really left to say
No one to say it to
She never looked back

No bonds, no dreams
Five stair-stepped children
Their only common ground
Just another mid-life casualty

Now twenty-five years later
It yet remains a mystery
A sharp thorn that never dulled
A stinging blister on his mind

It is a scathing monologue
When he puts voice to it
Toxic, venomous words that bite
No forgiveness or admission to complicity

He will not give up that stone
He will hoard it’s hard cold weight
This grudge formed by guilt unrecognized
And take it with him when he goes