Deprived

Deprived of Sahara's company

I looked around the room

and spied her purse

at the foot of the chair

I went through every item

in a little notebook

written with an eyebrow pencil

I found the very poem

which you are reading now—

the writing smudged

but word for word:

“Straighten up, little warrior,” it ended

“It's not as though you

wasted your life

by loving me.”