in another lifetime

when i was
married, before
she tapped the
phones and had
me followed, and put
me in a strangle
hold, or started
dating carlos
on the sly, before
she downloaded
and printed every
keystroke on
my computer, before
she bought the
exotic bird and put
it in the livingroom,
before she called
the police because
i turned a light
on, before she took
everything i had,
including my son
and cut it all
in half, we'd make
sweet love all
night long, and
then again in
the morning while
the blue birds chirped
in the tree right
outside our window.