you were vaping peanut butter cups
and blowing smoke
into space
i was shielded in the cradle
of a book
nothing beats a paperback the scent of adventure
and undiscovered worlds they
cannot make a juice for it
i boasted
then you found newspaper
print vape juice on
we laughed our asses off
all the way to the
store
some days were all traffic
no let up
it was hard to even
get up
so many screens
so little time and who would believe
a moment of silence…
could feel
like
a crime
you were stunning
they were gunning
to meet you
if only they knew
what they were walking
into
in the city you may find her
weeknights back of the lot
expanse of sky above a fenced
square of earth to breathe
eyes full of sunset and
impossible math ruled out in
her forehead
tired of moving
cannot afford to stay
how can she tell
the kid
the grapefruit ice you stir
upon the delta breeze
while summer lost
the spark
calm down you need not
rush
the leaves to turn and
softly fall upon the crossing
walk
time to sit and talk
all the cell phones gone and what a world
would be. what a world
once
was and how we got along you
fingered my blouse i cried to think so
soon you would be
gone
the song of summer has ended
and we nest inside our city
apartments
these dawns thaw out long
after the sunrise. i cut most
my hair off and dive beneath
the complexities
i can smile waking up again. i
can find myself again
in the winter. i
can see my breath
singing
limitless hours over and under ground. writing
and what 4. to sustain the hope that someday
one could craft a transmission
would be well received?
let me get up
drag a comb through the hair
pull on the boots
button up the shirt
draw the belt firm across
the waist
step out on the landing
and live! 4 this is worth
the risk
