JOLENE

“And I could easily understand how you could take my man but you don’t know what he means to me.”–Dolly Parton, “Jolene”

We were over by then, completely
finished. We’d both been through
the five stages of grief but I
circled back to depression.

You asked what you could do
and I said, Come over. Hold me.
We lay in bed that night, the first
time in months and you held
me while I cried then said,
Please don’t write about this.
I don’t want Jolene to know.

I’d been the one to cause
the end, I know that, but you
moved on so fast – as if
the seven years we spent together
were best remembered through
the lens of a new love.

You stayed the night, holding
me, breathing softly
beside me. You left
before dawn.

I waited eight years
to write this poem.
I hope she
understands.

“Have I Told You Lately/Night Ride”by sjpowermac is licensed under CC PDM 1.0

Courtney LeBlanc

Courtney LeBlanc is the author of Beautiful & Full of Monsters (forthcoming from Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), chapbooks All in the Family (Bottlecap Press) and The Violence Within (Flutter Press), and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She has her MBA from University of Baltimore and her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She loves nail polish, wine, and tattoos. Read her publications on her blog: www.wordperv.com. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv, and IG: @wordperv79.

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Courtney LeBlanc is the author of Beautiful & Full of Monsters (forthcoming from Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), chapbooks All in the Family (Bottlecap Press) and The Violence Within (Flutter Press), and a Pushcart Prize nominee. She has her MBA from University of Baltimore and her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She loves nail polish, wine, and tattoos. Read her publications on her blog: www.wordperv.com. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv, and IG: @wordperv79.

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