a hollowing

the bond that had been between them
got hollowed out
by the stress of taking on too many
responsibilities
as a young happy couple
who thought that for some reason
the world would bend at their will &
let all the hopes & dreams come true
(in a short time).

but the typical american family
with the typical white picket fence
was born out of typical american illusions &
with them came the
typical american
problems,
all spun from a country that makes it
increasingly hard
to raise kids in a family with two parents
who do not become so stressed out & damaged
by the whole lot of their situation
(emotional, financial)
that they end up taking it out on each other,
eventually splitting up,
divorcing,
dealing the kids like cards at a poker table
(winning hand to the player with the most dough),
with the subsequent repetitive slamming of the
court doors behind them
for years to come
over custody battles.

now, opposite ways they walk
each with visitation rights,
each with a crushed dream of the
hollywood home life,
which they had both so desperately
wanted---
left with an absence,
left with a hole, a lack,
left with a sense of failure &
emptiness,
just as scooped out as an acorn squash round the
“holidays,” just as a deep dark well
echoing that last toss of the
penny.