Flatline

a Poem by Raquel Swann

My heart stopped this morning when

you told me the news. You found

a quality in another that I could not

provide. They filled this imaginary void

I didn’t even know existed. You told me

this affair has been going on for months

but now it’s serious. Perhaps you could have

spoke to me about the void, or the quality I lacked,

or the surprising fact that my best friend

of twenty years just happened to be the

only one in the universe who could

comfort you in your time of need.