Ambiguity 101

by Deborah Stinson
(Port Clinton, OH, USA)

He held my gaze a moment too long
and made it perfectly clear.

He looks outside for entertainment
and I wonder why I look like entertainment

when I haven’t entertained
that thought in months. or years.

Actually I might have thought about it;
just not acted on the thoughts.

Daydreaming is a sin here.
The good women block out those fantasies

with home-cooked meals and heads turned
in the dark when it becomes necessary.

Or so it seems. I wouldn’t know since it’s
been my habit to enjoy it in the past regardless

of what anyone thought.
But now I just don’t care.

Something died and love became a lie
against my truth.

I hide in my own revolution
while books are written on how to lie

intentionally. Ambiguity 101 is the
hot new course on campus.

I see him noticing me, but he’s not serious.
It’s just another exercise.

A game. The same one
we all keep losing.