Last Word

He said,
"You are a fragile egg.
Whoever cried when one broke?"

Come September

Come September
the leaves curled into themselves
like small children hiding from the cold snap.
When the drops of rain
fell like blows
they hid so deep
into themselves
that their muscles cramped
and the strain of
overlong tension
made them fall from the branch.

Lees Corner

How many times
have I driven
this same stretch of
pavement and thought
myself going home?

Bedsheets

I must give you up,
my security blanket
and let you rest
on someone else's bed
before I learn to share sheets
with this new comforter,
who may
one day
become my security blanket.

4am Rain

The night I promised myself
I would stop
loving you
you kissed me on the cheek
and told me
    I was the best
girl.

You held me as I held
my sobbing friend
wavering on my high heeled
whiskey filled feet.

     When we left so she
could cry
              alone
you stayed with us
distracted us
with talk of video games
and the little jokes
that run
amongst our friends.

     When we sat in the back
of my truck
and it began to rain,
  it felt
like a movie
    soft
and tasting like 4:30am.

I wanted to kiss you
but your girl was right
up the road

Chapstick

First her tongue
licks the top lip
then the bottom
and slowly rolls
the bottom one
between teeth
which only graze
before the mouth is
left open
and her eyes close.