Purge by Shirley Jones-Luke

There was nothing sentimental about your leaving.

I watched your back as you headed for the cab,
suitcase in hand, it was raining and the streets were slick,
cab's wipers swished back and forth,
driver had a bored expression,
meter was frozen at zero,
airport was ten miles away, it was evening and rush
hour was at its height, I did not stop you, puddles
formed, a circle of tears, as you stood, not sure if you
should enter the taxi or run back to me, arms out,
enveloping me in a warm embrace, holding on tightly,
your face held a mix of emotions - sadness, anger and confusion
all merging at once to make you appear sick, sick from leaving, but
I remained stoic, unyielding, sick of you, who wanted to leave,
so leave, the cab pulls away, your silhouette remains.



Shirley Jones-Luke is a poet and writer from Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Luke has an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. She was a 2016 The Watering Hole Poetry Fellow. Her work has been published in ENUF, Raising Mothers and The Voices Project. Ms. Luke is working on a poetry manuscript for 2017.