Another Morning

And I wake
next to a warm body
that can barely conceal
her contempt for me.

I am her meal ticket
and she my cover story.
We're both miserable.

We liked,
even on some level
loved,
each other
once upon a time.

But there is no happy ending.

Our friendly arrangement
has frosted into
resentment.

All because some 2000-year-old
book of legends and Romans and fairy tales
has convinced me and my country
I don't deserve any better.

I wander into the kitchen,
start the coffee,
then see what mask I can find in the closet
to wear Out Into The World today.