Friendship was of no concern to him
no real acquaintances either
several co-workers though
none of whom had affection
for him or he for them
once he did fall in love
and if truth be told
money was exchanged
during each visit
even as his love deepened
then one day she moved
to a larger city
a new life to start
she wrote in a postcard
and he missed a full week
of work, sadness he called
the flu, it was going around,
and the day he returned
a co-worker stabbed him
twice and then himself
no one knew why
they had rarely spoken
the man with no concern for friendship
and no real acquaintances
didn’t die in the office
but on the way to hospital
her name on his lips
and he knew in his heart
it wasn’t her real name.
J. J. Steinfeld lives on Prince Edward Island. He has published nineteen books, including, most recently, Absurdity, Woe Is Me, Glory Be (Poetry, Guernica Editions, 2017), and A Visit to the Kafka Café (Poetry, Ekstasis Editions, 2018). His short stories and poems have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies internationally, and his plays have been performed in Canada and the United States.