but not for long

you're so dramatic
she'd say
as I set fire to the valentine's
card
that she was going to send to her
married boyfriend.
I laughed and nodded.
I guess in a way I am, I said,
as I put the love note
into the pan
and lit a match.
I knew it was just one card
of a half dozen endearing cards
that she had hidden in her purse,
or car,
in a drawer behind things,
or at work.
she didn't budge, or try
to grab the card, signed with
love.
I wish I could tell the world
how much I love you,
she wrote
with little hearts around it.
I told her that I wished
someone would send me
a card like that sometime
as I watched the five dollar
card go up in flames.
I wish I had a wife who cared
about me that much.
and then put my finger to my
chin while the ashes floated
up to the ceiling and said,
wait a minute, you are my wife.
but not for long.