it was a late september afternoon
the northeastern seaboard air
held hostage
by a murderous storm
all that was required of me that day
was to exist happily at home
however extra time and a heart full of love
had allowed me
to take him grateful sandwiches at work
upon returning to our nest
i decided to watch a movie
to occupy my longing
for the sound of his blackened boots
climbing the stairs
we used his laptop to watch streaming films
hooked to a 174 inch flat screen tv
by a silver and gold hdmi cable
that’s when it happened
i clicked on the favorites list to pull up the movie website and there they were
his trunk of costumes and masks
a pile of social network aliases
he had been assuming
i realized he was no less than five people in my world…and everyone else’s
interacting on an eerily regular basis
profiles ranging from a black female poet
angst ridden housewives
hell, even a businessman from Taiwan
my body was crushed to my place on the floor by the enormity of the deception
the stench of oily manipulation filled the room
i left the laptop open to die uncharged
where it sat atop a book of van gogh’s work
still sitting cross legged and stunned
hours later
when he arrived back
horror slashing his face
the legion within him screamed
“Did you look into my computer?!”
the automaton of self preservation raised her head with a dissimulating smile and answered
“I watched The Mirror Has Two Faces, baby. Are you hungry?”
he retracted his fangs and leathery wings
a demon deciding we should have pasta fagiole
i packed my bags the next morning
leaving behind no explanatory note
just a few hairs in the drain and my hopes of making a life with him
