Preponderance of Guilt
50-50
was the divorce court decree
She and I both bear the blame,
yet, why does an 800-pound gorilla
preponderance of guilt
weigh heavy on the back of me?
I know I did my shameful part
to wreck our marriage
To destroy something that was once beautiful
I’m guilty as charged ...
let the gavel of judgment come down hard
Let it pound me into the dungeon dirt floor
Laying prone, I see an equal distribution of responsibility —
Half of the woe is on her,
half of the lament is on me
Even though she and I both share in the blame:
why is there a cinder block preponderance of guilt
wrapped tight around my feet,
pulling me ... into the murky depths
of final separation misery?
No evidentiary discovery
came to my prosecutorial rescue
when I cried aloud my plaintiff plaintive plea:
Judge Judy judge ... then please have mercy on me
Though I ain’t the only one at fault —
having my soul split asunder
is the ultimate marital penalty
I truly know, she and me both are to blame,
still, a heavy rope preponderance of guilt
grow taut from the back of a moving pickup truck
dragging empty clanging cans of grief,
with a vanity plate that says: Just Got Divorced!
Untie the bind ... this kinda freedom don’t make some happy
Pay the piper for playing an arpeggio parting amicably
And the court rubber stamped my heart
with a piece of paper that said: No Longer Married
Attorney G. Eden’s closed briefcase sound:
a rusted chain swinging from a courtyard tree
was the echo preponderance of my guilt —
Lynched broken vows hanging me
Marriage went down in flames ...
only thing salvageable
was a tarnished maiden name
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