Sometimes you only know half the story
or a fourth
or a twelfth.
Sometimes your friend complains
about how his boss is always riding him
and then you hear
how your friend’s been charged with sexual harassment
by like six of his coworkers
and maybe his boss
should’ve been riding him harder.

Or like Thanksgiving
that loving tale of friendship and community
that prefaces a couple centuries of genocide
and warfare?
We hear one kind of story
but it foreshadows another one
entirely.

Anyway
I was a real snippy bitch before
during the intermission
and I was probably right.
But
on the off-chance
I’m missing some explanation
and you didn’t deserve the amputation
I’d like to offer all apologies
for my extreme reaction.

Get well.