This one is old; but, it shows the angst of dating again after a loss. We humans are resilient creatures. We keep running that play again, until we get it right. Never give up. Never surrender.
Other Men
I struggle to form a picture
of a restaurant.
You are seated at a table
across from other men.
Do you make the same small talk
you make with me?
I wonder if you spill your wine,
or whether
you toss your hair
while you nail them to the cross
of male ego.
Do they cringe at your courage?
Do you look at them with the looks
you have given me?
I fight the urge
to ask myself the hard questions,
what if they get a higher grade
on the test than I?
What if they are prettier
than I?
What if you will love them
and not me?
Do you hold their hand
with gentle fingers?
Do you touch their knee
with the knee that touched me?
In my mind’s eye,
the landscape is filled with other men,
grasping and groping,
wildly pursuing
the one I love.
Their lights are brighter than mine.
Their souls are purer than mine.