Catherine
was my imaginary
friend

A figment of my parched imagination
she was many things I wanted to be
and several things I didn't
None of which
I ever became

She was always there
when I needed her
and I needed her always
I was always there for her
convenience

She was the dare
that concealed the truth
The sin I was too afraid
to commit

We would play
games of make-believe:
make-believe we cared
make-believe we mattered
make-believe we believed
in ourselves

Unlike most imaginary friends
it was she that outgrew me first
but like all imaginary friends
I awoke one day to find her
gone

I drove to work that morning with a
hole in my heart
and tried to fill it
with coffee

 

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