Oh, how I’d hoped you’d have wisdom to impart

when you strolled into that party

unannounced and unexpected, but

with all the swagger in the world.

Instead, you only complemented my ball gown

which was pink taffeta, for some reason.

Instead, you simply laughed at the off-color joke my landlord,

from that crumbling apartment three years ago, told.

Have you heard the one about the monkey and the oxygen tank, you asked.

What about the security guard and a dozen angry flamingos?

undeterred and unanswered, never

revealing the punchline to the crowd.

But you’re dead, I remember thinking

after the dream was over and I waited for the kettle to sing.

But you’re gone, I should have told you

what havoc your carelessness had brought into our lives.

What could you say to that?

A postmortem confrontation

undead and unrelenting, we

didn’t get the chance to be so serious.