If I Slip on a Banana Peel [poem]

Kristin Diversi
Jul 25, 2017 · 2 min read

We watched a show together
And it made me think
If I were to die first
(please, god, or whatever slip of fate takes me, let me be first)
I need to know
I need to know
That you won’t be alone

That someone will take my place
Not fill my place
I know
And you know
And you tell me
That the space we created
Is unfillable
By anything other than what we made
And what we will continue to create
As long as one of us lives;
Even after the other
And is there anything more beautiful
Than a lover who stays married
To a ghost

Don’t be beautiful, I tell you
This isn’t a Bronte novel

We argue about it
And I ask you
Please
If something happens
A slip on a banana peel
An accident
Cancer
(please, don’t let it be cancer)
Please
Find someone to make you smile
I can’t bear the thought of you lonely

I think we only get one,
You tell me
One and done
And Love has left me a satisfied customer.
I’ll miss you,
But for someone else
I won’t be lonely

I think of you
Sitting on the couch
Our couch
The couch I hated
Because it’s black leather
And it reminded me of a pimp
When we started dating
And I never thought you would be anything
And then you were everything
And I think of you sitting on that couch
That became our couch
And then your couch
Again
Watching tv
And the years pass
The seams come apart, slowly
It fades
We didn’t notice
We never do, when things happen slowly
The days, they went so slowly, didn’t they
We didn’t notice
The years
Until we saw them behind us
And remember your car
How fast it was and how it was so important to who you were
And then it wasn’t.
Life clings to us
And then it doesn’t.

And I hope
When I’m gone
That you’ll hold on to my heart
And let go of my hand

Kristin Diversi

Written by

writer. editor. fried chicken enthusiast.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade