1) Fade
Lie in the sun until your color is muted, until you are no longer vibrant
Repeat several weeks
Now stand against the wall
Does he notice?
2) Don’t say a word unless he speaks (and he won’t speak) your name
He’ll rattle off friends like I rattle off medications but you won’t find your name among them
Maybe a brief pause like he is forgetting somebody but no, he can’t be
And surely, it can’t be the friend who has written him endless poems
3) Stop texting him
Watch the relationship die like a fire,
Every hopeful ember
Think of a shop putting a sign on the door:
“We are now closed”
4) Respect the sign and retreat, even though inside
You hear the distinct you are aching
No one has invited you and no one will because no one can remember
You are a phantom all the way back to your car
5) Write a poem about being ignored to reassure yourself
That not everyone ignores you. Just those one (or two) special people
“I’m sorry but we are now closed”
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