This morning, I look out my window
and think I see an old girlfriend
standing under a tree holding a gun.
Then realize it was the next-door neighbor
watering her lawn, aiming the nozzle
of the hose in my direction.
My ex, a psychiatric nurse, liked
to take a silver-plated pistol
out of her purse before we went to bed.
After I saw her for the last time,
she turned up at a friend’s wedding
and threatened to shoot her former husband.
Even though I felt sorry for her,
I didn’t want the added drama.
Let her be in someone else’s movie,
I thought, but often wonder
what happened to her, self-destructive,
unhappy, drinking wine at nine
in the morning when she gets home
from her night shift, her patients
still asleep in the cinema of her pain.
Michael Minassian is a Contributing Editor for Verse-Virtual, His poetry collections Time is Not a River, Morning Calm, A Matter of Timing and Jack Pays a Visit, are all available on Amazon. His collection 1000 Pieces of Time was released October, 2025 by Sheila-Na-Gig.