Ugly Words

You are pathetic
As you fumble with your purse
Clasp a cigarette in shivering hands
You tell me your hardships
As if you were in famine
Constant pain you call it
That’s your life to you
I take a cigarette from the box
The stains on us match
You open your mouth to speak
But instead you groan
Fifty years my senior
No further along than I
But you are the only one
The only one who loves me
So I don’t show my doubt
My disbelief or sorrow
I smile and drink from your flask