Lovehearts

When she’d announced our relationship was

going down the pan, I still didn’t expect to find

those Lovehearts at the bottom of the toilet bowl,

not yet flushed away - and that took some time

as they nestled into the nadir of the bend. Love Bug,

Hold Me and Just Us, expressions of affection

dissolving into mixed messages before finally

having nothing more to say and romance at an end.

With Valentine’s Day only weeks away, this has

been the most final of lavatorial executions, love’s

farewell repeating as a watery neologism in the

surprise of a fluid reminder further down the line.

Like lifting the lid on a once-lovers’ exposé

here is the real dishing of dirt as it all washes away.

[Just storytelling!]