Seth and Emma stood

opposite sides

of the courtroom

where marriages go to die

and custody battles turned

into fist fights and sometimes

gunshots.

Their lawyers accompanied

their briefs with briefcases.

Seth wore a white dress shirt

without a tie or a dime to his name.

He moved a black comb

and gel through his hair.

Seth’s tan pants and dark loafers told

the judge that he tried to put himself

back together after his world became

a landmine of traps set by confusion,

exploding over missed red flags.

Seth prayed his downfall away

with a feather of laughter,

tickling the irony of the vows

that infidelity spoiled.

Emma’s indiscrete rendezvous

left Escape from another

man’s neck on his pillowcase.

Seth’s heartbroken because nothing

could derail the impending freight

train of a courtroom.

Seth saw Kacie,

his heart’s affection,

when the judge gave

the permission.

Seth could see Kacie

this Thanksgiving,

but she was with Emma

for Christmas.

Kacie thought Seth

had it in him not to see her.

But he wanted to continue

to see her without

bringing a judge

back into the mix.

Gossip hunters brandished lies.

The sharpened steel stabbed

his back with pointed accusations.

Seth prayed and flipped pages

in self-help books.

Kacie’s grown up

and has a child of her own.

Kacie accused Seth

of falling short as a father.

Seth sat with Kacie over coffee.

He told her what he needed

to get off his chest.

Kacie shed tears

and thanked him,

if for nothing else,

all of his love.

And there’s not a thing

they’d change about each other.

By Andy Cooper

From: United States

Website: https://medium.com/@drinkcoffeewrite82

Twitter: AC0040