How Not To Be Alone, Step 1

forget the white flash of the half smile
the hiss of skin on linen
those quotidian pleasures are no longer yours

you trade the mortgage
the company-matched 401(k)
for a small apartment in the city
and trading barbs at a wine bar

and you will walk home to that glistening glass building
heels clicking on the concrete
the sound carrying far on the empty street