I try really hard,

every time I remember you,

to think of some sweet thing

I remember you’d do.

But, unfortunately,

there’s not enough memory

to illuminate more cave paintings

of a happy you and me.

Instead, I think about

how every female praying mantis

chomps away at the head

of her caught, hopeless romantics

And, comparatively,

what a tremendous mercy

you showed

in simply, silently leaving me.

It sparks a thought of

gratitude I’ve never said:

“Thank you, darlin’,

for not eating my head.”