All in an instant

You'll figure it out.

An awkward family dinner

Where we all know something you don’t.

The awkward silence becomes deafening

And we all have these thoughts snowballing.

I know about what happened.

I looked at your phone records.

You can’t try to hide it.

Because I’ve known all along.

Once a cheater, always a cheater.

Mom sits across the table 

Sitting silently, she holds back her tears

Even though it’s blatantly obvious

She’s broken.

I can’t believe I told her

I can’t believe I even brought it up

I ruined everything; shattered everything

I was only curious.

Was it such a crime to care?

I can’t believe you lied

I can’t believe you were willing to make this sacrifice.

Everything is ruined.

Her heart is broken, and so is mine.

Those calls in the evening

I knew they weren’t your buddy

Heck, I had a feeling all along.

You broke apart the puzzle that almost fit perfect.

Now it’s scattered everywhere.  

I can’t look at her.

She breaks my heart every time

Her tears are all my own.

And I can’t help but cry

She washes the dishes silently

And he walks on

Cause he knows she knows;

Cause he knows it’s over.

It’s the end, I’m afraid.

The night settles down and off he is to bed

While she sits solemnly at the kitchen table

Numb without feeling, mind without thought

Speechless and awestruck

I sit and look and can’t believe what’s before me

Everything broken, shattered; All in an instant.

Just from what you’ve done.

But what can I say?

Once a cheater, always a cheater.

Reviews

[J.A.N]

This is real, a torn family.
And I've been there, an awkward family dinner.
"Cause he knows she knows;
Cause he knows it's over" This poem is beautiful
and strong all around, but this line really creates it.
I love how you wrote the truth, with so much feeling,
so much pain, and tied it off with "always a cheater."