Seth and Emma stood
opposite sides
of the courtroom
where marriages go to die
and custody battles turned
into fist fights and sometimes
gunshots.
Their lawyers accompanied
their briefs with briefcases.
Seth wore a white dress shirt
without a tie or a dime to his name.
He moved a black comb
and gel through his hair.
Seth’s tan pants and dark loafers told
the judge that he tried to put himself
back together after his world became
a landmine of traps set by confusion,
exploding over missed red flags.
Seth prayed his downfall away
with a feather of laughter,
tickling the irony of the vows
that infidelity spoiled.
Emma’s indiscrete rendezvous
left Escape from another
man’s neck on his pillowcase.
Seth’s heartbroken because nothing
could derail the impending freight
train of a courtroom.
Seth saw Kacie,
his heart’s affection,
when the judge gave
the permission.
Seth could see Kacie
this Thanksgiving,
but she was with Emma
for Christmas.
Kacie thought Seth
had it in him not to see her.
But he wanted to continue
to see her without
bringing a judge
back into the mix.
Gossip hunters brandished lies.
The sharpened steel stabbed
his back with pointed accusations.
Seth prayed and flipped pages
in self-help books.
Kacie’s grown up
and has a child of her own.
Kacie accused Seth
of falling short as a father.
Seth sat with Kacie over coffee.
He told her what he needed
to get off his chest.
Kacie shed tears
and thanked him,
if for nothing else,
all of his love.
And there’s not a thing
they’d change about each other.