This year for Lent,
I am giving up Love.
I’m giving up roses
I’m giving up Hallmark
I’m giving up paper hearts
I am giving up God.
No more stitching others’
congenital hearts back into perfection.
No more store-bought chocolates
in glossy soulless boxes.
I will cross out the initials
on every tree in town.
Don’t think I won’t stop
the forty minute drives
to find you sleeping on the
couch, not even dreaming of
our plans,
because I am giving up
on broken hearts,
broken eyes,
empty stomachs,
daises braided into chains
and nights of passion
that have no passion
and are just nights
that seem to last only
the briefest seconds
before dawn.
This year for Lent,
I am giving up Love.