Let Somebody Else Have You

This poem was written in response to the Rattle® Poetry Ekphrastic Challenge for April 2026 and was ultimately not selected. You can find more information here.

https://rattle.com/page/ekphrastic/

Let Somebody Else Have You

Glad that you have gone

For you were not just a thorn in my side

But the whole damn rose bush

Beautiful but painful to hold

You lied like it was your favorite pastime

Manipulated the truth and twisted my words

Turned friends and family against me

Burned bridges while I was still standing on them

And you cheated

Flirting with every

Two legs with a dick in town

I found the messages on your phone

And the pictures you had sent

But then you cried that I had

Neglected and mistreated you

Made it all my fault

You hated my parents

Ignored my pets

Threw my cooking in the garbage

And told me I sang like a dying frog

You complained about the clothes I wore

And the car I drove

You despised the way I decorated my house

And the music I listened to

Nothing about me was right for you

Nothing I did made you happy

But the worst thing about you

The one thing I absolutely could not stand was

You watered down whiskey

Until it might as well have been tea

And brewed weak coffee

That resembled dirty dishwater

And then you had the

Audacity

To stand there

And call both

A good strong drink!

Submitted under MRB