weren’t even married
Janet Kuypers
07/02/98
you jumped from an airplane once
and you promised that you’d force me to go with you
the next time
you were always jumping out of airplanes,
weren’t you
the ring i’m wearing
is on my right hand, not my left
and it’s on my middle finger, not my ring finger
and it seems appropriate
you didn’t even buy me that ring
and we weren’t even married
i bought the ring at a street fair
on belmont avenue in chicago
on the day of our first date
where we watched pulp fiction at your apartment
and i asked you to sit closer
to me
and you kissed me
the ring isn’t a complete circle
there are two stones that don’t quite meet
and there’s a void in the middle
and that was appropriate
cause you didn’t even buy it for me
and we weren’t even married
i’ve missed you, you know
i can’t even pass the apartment building you lived in any more
i remember when you told me
that someone was shot in that building once
and that maybe it was haunted
but they were shot for money
they were robbed
and this time you just slipped away in your sleep
and this time i was robbed
when one of the stones fell out of my ring
i was sad
but i think you were more sad
you wanted to replace the shiny purple stone
but i said no
and now i still wear the ring
and a stone is still missing
and isn’t it appropriate
and we weren’t even married
i’ve missed you, you know
and with your absence the bad memories vanish
where you were someone else once
where you were someone once
where you were alive once
i forget that there was so much about you i hated
because you’re not here to remind me
so with this ring, i remember
because now nothing is complete anymore
and everything is missing now
and isn’t it appropriate
that there’s no next time for us
you jumped from an airplane once
and you promised that you’d force me to go with you
the next time
Copyright Janet Kuypers.
All rights reserved. No material
may be reprinted without express permission.
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Watch the YouTube video below
(3:22) at the live Jesse Oaks live “UNcorrect” feature 06/21/07
