The Understudy

The Understudy

As the understudy
for a woman
whose husband
had already
abandoned her,

she learned
to lie
to herself
and her own
husband.

She withdrew
into a shell
of waiting
for her next
escape.

Each moment
became
a guarded retreat
from any facsimile
of intimacy,

and she broke
each tie
until
they shared
only a house

she brought
this other
woman's man to
for a half hour
of intrigue

only
to wait
again
each 23
and half hours
a day.

In fact,
she did
everything
at home
her lover's wife
had done
to drive
her own man
away.

And,
so it was
over time,
she changed
herself
into the women
she had replaced,

and her husband
turned
into the men
she used to know.

She learned
abandonment
from the inside out,

and her husband
smiled
as he packed
to go
on business.