Slammed & Split

Red Plastic Cup

One red plastic cup.
All that's left of abrupt
endings and recurrent beginnings
in a chess match of love that nobody's winning.

And this
One red plastic cup
let me know what's up,
left behind a mere trace.
The drops in the bottom are barely a taste.

But that
One red plastic cup
is slightly filled up
with just of enough
to make me think that a drink will be up to snuff.

And it's
One red plastic cup
that my mind builds up
with imagined flavor,
because a guy can pretend that there's something to savor.

It was
One red plastic cup
that I took and threw up,
high into the air.
I watched it land in the garbage and could only stare.

I saw
One red plastic cup
laid wrong-side up
on top of the pile.
I left it there, but left with no smile.

One red plastic cup
is wrapped and bagged up
in a dumpster outside.
And when I threw that cup out, a part of me died.