The Road You're On

You don’t have the money to feed your kids  
And you worry all the time  
About how you will afford the gas to get to work each day  
The backyard needs mowing  
And the carpets are spotted in filmy grays and browns  
Legos beating up the bottom of your feet  
And toys you didn’t realize were around anymore  
Plodding in clustered corners  
Like forgotten weeds  
While you struggle vehemently  
With your insides  
Wondering if anyone can love you  
Really love you  
Because the apocalypse of age  
Looms recklessly closer  
And your veneer of confidence  
Tired and beaten  
Verges on utter collapse.
You thought maybe he loved you  
So you gave and gave  
Until you were handing out offerings  
From your internal cesspool,  
Still giving, nonetheless.  
He doesn’t love you after all, does he?  
And slipped away in the dead of night  
With all your cash  
And your last stick of gum  
That you needed  
Because you are all out of toothpaste  
And don’t get paid for another  
Week.      
You don’t give your love away for free  
Anymore and now your heart darkens  
Just a tiny bit more...  
And you’ll never get over this one,  
You know that,  
Because you gave him everything  
And now you have nothing left.