Jealous as a schoolboy
by Michael Estabrook
Don’t know how to do it,
how to prevent him from getting
past me, getting to her,
without me looking foolish
and jealous as a schoolboy.
And she won’t mind
being split away from me
for the evening,
sitting alongside him during dinner
and even for the show.
He’s so tall and debonair,
handsome and worldly-wise,
well-spoken and a better dancer than me.
It’s no big deal, she’ll say,
don’t embarrass me, don’t make waves,
don’t be so paranoid,
he can’t be interested in me,
he’s married and so are we.
And all because she needs
to be so nice, to please others,
she’ll sacrifice me to keep the peace
in the crowd and avoid making a scene,
should it play out that we
are kept apart for the evening.
“He was being so nice after all,” she’ll say.