Earlier

You take a pill and go to bed

Then plug the headphones in

Turn on the iPod, and play that goddamn song

The one that won’t leave your head

Earlier, you pour a shot

And place it on the table, bedside

Sip from one; then the other

In preparation to close your eyes

Earlier, you shower and brush

Making sure to towel dry

Take a second to scrutinize your face in the mirror

Appears as sane as the day you’ll die

Earlier, you watch TV

Then answer an email or two

Clean up a bit, and peruse a book

Trying to keep the focus on you

Earlier, you grab the bag of pills

Stashed so conveniently nearby

Eat few of one, then chase with a gulp

Of a burning, angry rye

Earlier, you make the first drink

Consisting of whiskey and ice

Gulp it down; then poor another

A few more should suffice

And if she were here, you’d toast to her

Celebrating her, out of your mind

Letting the slow burn illustrate your dedication

To her warmth, a special kind

Earlier, you grimaced and sighed

Feeling stuck in the same old rut

Pushing it away, and downplaying the new

Gaping, stinging cut

Earlier, it turns out that she says

She can no longer keep you near

So later you reach for those pills, and find that bottle

The one true love sincere

Earlier, you move in for a kiss

But you can see behind her eyes

That her focus is elsewhere, on another man

Or so you quickly surmise

Earlier you start to think

That you’ll see this partnership through

But in the end, over and over

The last one standing is you