The Mad Girl's Abandonment Blues

having a father who only told
me a few things: don't wear
pink lipstick, it makes your
teeth look grey and then that
he did not want to be invited
to my wedding, didn't want
to come or pay.Abandoned
in the Philadelphia subway
when the British poet tried to
figure out where we were, left
me in the dark with his luggage,
no one around. I felt abandoned
so much of last week, left in
places I wasn't sure how I'd
get to where I couldn't have
figured the left. Left unkissed,
untouched in spite of two
glasses of wine, words flowing
but not blood. Abandoned
by the publisher who moved the
date closer, changed the title,
says he's excited to have you in
his house, wants to do as many
books as he can by you and then
burns his books and house down.

--Lyn Lifshin