it's going around

i hear from an old
friend. she calls out of the blue.
she tells me about her boyfriend
who
lied
to her, betrayed her,
found someone else to be
in love with.
she's sick
with it all. devastated
and crushed.
she can't eat
or sleep.
she's reading every book on
the subject
of narcissism, going to
therapy once a week,
she's consumed by what
happened. at how cruel
he was to do this to her,
when she thought
it was real,
thought it was true
love. she begins to cry
on the phone.
i hate him, she says,
but i miss him too. i can't
stop trying to figure
it out. it seemed
so real at first, before
it turned sour
and full of gloom. why do i
miss someone so toxic,
so sick, so without conscience?
i tell her, that i'm sorry
that she had to go
through such a thing,
you're better off without him,
it will take time, but you'll
heal and get well,
that this sickness is
pandemic, it's been
going around.