The Getaway

I fathered three children by three women,
all better than I. I lived like a god. It seemed
at times to quite overcome my civility,
not to mention my aversion to heroics;

glad I made a splash when I didn’t know
any better; these days find me under a hole
somewhere out of sight, no more flaming
freakness dripping light from every finger.

My tests were these: eight weeks of hell week
in high school, for that thing; going
before the board of admirals; my MFA;
and my shodan test; and those three kids;

and their mothers. The truth is that it was the
romantic deaths that killed me beyond all recourse
a dozen times or more; desperate doomsday love
that can survive anything except a new girl.

But once you really get your teeth in it,
nothing beats living alone. I’ve got ten
good years now without being drawn around
by someone else’s predilections, The peace in

that solitude is not a woman
but it’s not too bad.