They were talking, not understanding
Going through motions long rehearsed
The words had lost their meaning
But not their function
Love is a thousand actions
But a thousand actions are not love
She said she was just tired
And he said they had seen better days
But all the days led to this one
And this one came a hundred times
Duty-bound--
The last three decades had been slow
Slow enough for her to see
Slow enough for him to know
He was not the man she chose
And she was not the woman—
Who chose him
Details, easy to ignore
Between driving children to school
And picking them up after sports
Gone now and only the sound,
The necessity of conversation left
Her kisses cold with irrelevance
His-- hot with remembrance
Together lukewarm--
From bliss born of ignorance
