Her

I think of her
now and again,
since I threw her
out–
think of her standing
before me, her
blouse undone and
one tit
like a loaf of bread
hung to her belly
and she asking
for a hug
I would not give
because
I could not stand
her vapid presence
her senseless chatter;
I wished her gone
far away, and
was afraid that
if I gave
she might
stay forever.

Wayne F. Burke is the author of seven published full-length poetry collections–most recently ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET CROUTON (Luchador Press, 2019). He lives in Vermont.