I was told by a friend
That she flashed some boys from Sudan
In the park
She says she’s depressed
So I brought her breakfast
And she told me who she loved
All of them
I was curious that she loved all these people who had left her –
I didn’t know if she didn’t mention me out of courtesy
But I had a suspicion that if I left her there
She’d love me soon enough

Another friend told me that she slept with her friend’s partner
She felt bad because she knew that the friend would forgive him
No matter what he did
She asked me if I knew the difference between love and real love
So I lied and said that I did
Real love is sacrifice I replied
The other is just having an opinion
She got angry and ordered another wine

A third friend noticed that I wasn’t really writing poetry anymore
That I was instead just writing things down
I told her that I no longer noticed the difference
Between a good poem and a bad poem
She said you no longer love it
I didn’t reply – I'd forgotten that what I say
Is so damn important