by Jennifer Lagier

You find it tiresome,
that adoring expression.
To him, this what the hell
fucked up one-night-stand
is his real deal, true love
he believes will last forever.
When you remind him
you are old enough
to be his mother,
not a soul mate interested
in future hookups or
moving into his apartment,
could care less about
entangling yourself
in another doomed marriage,
he gives you that look.
You recall the same comprehension
in the eyes of a creature
you surprised on the highway
an instant before impact
with your car’s lethal bumper.

Jennifer Lagier has published eight books of poetry and in a variety of literary magazines. She was nominated for a Pushcart in 2011, taught with California Poets in the Schools and is now a retired college librarian/instructor, member of the Italian American Writers Association, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Rockford Writers Guild, co-edits the Homestead Review and The Monterey Poetry Review, maintains websites for Ping Pong: A Literary Journal of the Henry Miller Library and misfitmagazine.net. She also helps coordinate the Monterey Bay Poetry Consortium’s Second Sunday Reading Series. Visit her website at: http://jlagier.net