Broken Vows

We broke the vows we swore we'd never break.

It happened slowly. A harsh word, white lie-

some little thing it's easy to mistake

for human weakness, flaws you never shake

no matter what. Just trying to get by,

we broke the vows we swore we'd never break.

I kept on loving him. I tried to make

things work, ignored the signs. But he would sigh

(some little thing quite easy to mistake)

when I came in a room or (less opaque)

ignore me altogether. If I asked why,

we broke more vows we swore we'd never break.

And so, the end. But sometimes when I take

the road toward L-, I moan, or scream, or cry -

some little thing it's easy to mistake

as maudlin. It may be. I stay awake

wondering who he's with, wondering why

we broke the vows we swore we'd never break-

if everything's so easy to forsake.