I Ran Into Monica

I ran into Monica
The other day
More or less
By accident
On the home bound
Commute
We had not seen
Each other
For the past
Several months
Mostly because
I was strapped for cash
And had been purchasing
Cheaper tickets and
Taking the more
Roundabout route home
I was surprised
When she sat down
Next to me
And began talking
As if we’d been
Seeing each other
Every day
“I thought you moved to
New Jersey?” I said
“Isn’t that what you said
That you wanted to do?”
She just shrugged her
Shapely shoulders
While she checked
Her ruby red lipstick
In her little pocket mirror
Snapping the mirror shut
She simply said
That her plans had changed
I was just about to ask
For her phone number
When she suddenly tells me
That she has been dating
A man who lives in
Montgomery County
For the past eleven years
For the past eleven years?
Now she tells me?
Then she tells me
That this mystery man
Is about to be
Divorced
And that he has promised
To marry her
As soon as the divorce
Becomes final
“You don’t say?” I said
nonchalantly
but to tell the truth
I was flabbergasted!
For the past two years or so
Monica had led me to believe
That she was single and
Free as a bird
As single and unattached
As I was
Now she tells me
That she has been
Seeing this still married man
For the past eleven years
As I said before
I was flabbergasted!
Even though
I had always figured her
For having a screw or two loose
That fact
By itself
Was no deal breaker
Since I have always
Been attracted
To emotionally unstable
women
You might even call it
An occupational hazard
Since I have been
A social worker
For nearly thirty years
But I always made
It a rule
To never date
Women who could be
Clients on my case load
Though it is sometimes
Hard to tell
The difference
Between clients
Currently on my case load
And all the other women
That I happen to bump into
Every day
That said however
I thought that Monica
Might be different
I thought that Monica
Definitely had some
Potential as a future
Mrs. M
Now she tells me
She has been dating
This married guy
For the past eleven years!
As I have previously said
I was flabbergasted!
Then without skipping a beat
Monica next tells me
That she had first met
Her mystery beau
On the bus
During her home bound
Commute
Not surprising
She said
While powdering her nose
He is the bus driver
After all

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011