The Man Who Gave Himself Away
by Chris Lihou
The Man Who Gave Himself Away
Each day
he gave away
a piece of himself.
He became
mortgage payments
two cars
school uniforms
family holidays.
Every promotion
cost him
time.
Every pay rise
bought
a bigger house
a newer car.
Somehow, somewhere
the boy disappeared
the boy
who wanted
to write
to paint
to kiss
to wander
to stare at clouds
to do sod all.
Eventually there was
nothing left
to give away
the kids grown
wife reinvented
job erased.
The house
only echoes
of his obligations.
Time now
to look
for the boy.
Could he find him?
The Girl Who Gave Herself Away
So young
so beautiful
so pregnant.
From the starter’s gun
she would never lead
trailing behind children.
trailing behind him.
Promotion
meant
packing boxes.
Pay rise
meant
goodbyes.
Every relocation
meant
another start line.
Home
repeatedly erased
on flights
to new places.
House empty.
Will she ever
feel at home?
Chris Lihou loves to write Flash fiction and poems that speak to the nature of our lives – our pain, joy, desires and our losses, and even a bit of life's silliness. His work has appeared in numerous online publications, including Paragraph Planet, Redrosethorns, 365 Tomorrows, Spillwords, 50 Give or Take and others. He has self-published three compilations of his work (Fifty More or Less, Fifty or More, and The Red Collection), all available via Amazon.
