If you hadn’t closed shop
when you did
you’d still be closed
by now.

The neighborhood couldn’t sustain
so many businesses
in such a small vicinity.
The industry
didn’t have enough municipal support
to continue indefinitely.
Stan would still have quit
to move to Krakatoa
leaving you without anyone prepared
to train any new staff
and receipts would have dropped
drastically.

Your grandparents
would have still required more of your time
during their divorce
and the volcanos and storms
would have ruptured the block.

Nothing could have saved your business
even if you had kept at it
and not quit
like a quitter
so sleep easy.