Dansant

"I'd say you're 28."
She speaks softly, leaning in close
The tilt of her voice
and her smell
provocative

"Close," I say, laughing,
believing her.

She steps in front of me
"How close?"

She leans in,
moves a lock of hair from my ear

"36," I say;
I look at her chest, pale white and freckled


She follows my eyes with her own
"I could be a dirty girl," they seem to flash,
and her lip curls in the hint of a smile

"Really?... Is this your natural hair color?" she says,

Her eyes following mine as I glance back at her pink nipples
then to her eyes again

deliberately

curious what she'll do

Her eyes amused but inviting,
I laugh again
A million possible choices
floating through my mind

I settle on "Yes."

"Is that yours?" I challenge,
having fun now

Pulling this particular dance from the dust
along with a thousand hedonic memories

"No," she says, stepping back a little
a nonchalant solicitation
to take in all of her

She flashes her eyes downward,
like she's read my mind
And then our eyes meet again
and she gives me a wicked grin

she's so open
it's practically a caress

"But it's nice, don't you think?"

And I think, yes.... it is.

Prey

In Sleep's fitful first throes
I struggle to run
Like through molasses
Here, where I often find myself
At 1, or 2
And other times
Between dropping off
And the restless thrashing
That comes after waking
From the dream that isn't a dream
I've tried to flee that familiar house
Where down the stairs that lie within
Stalks that nameless thing, terrifying
More times than I could count
Face to face with my dying
My chest tight, the fear
A crushing weight
I wake up,
Heart pounding in my ears
Knock knock knock knock...
I'm a rabbit down a rabbithole
Just in time.

Husk

Twilight tethers ghosts to spine
The world is dim, the fear divine

Bat dive-bombs boy at dusk

Awful vision, just a husk

Creeping through the caves of time

on knees in dirt, with death entwined

Monster

Could that have been me that Fall
When the snows came early, and yellowed leaves
Spotted the parks and drives

You came expecting Spring
But ashes still remained
Where new life should have been

You couldn't have known that
And so you left full of life
And a longing for Summer

But the season cycled early, and the harvest withered
And you couldn't have known
that I was as empty as Winter

Life story in couplets - the 80's

In 1981 I went with you to Jesus camp.
You stayed awake with me through the cold night, waiting for the Indians to attack

In 1983 I wrapped my arms around you to stave off the cold.
You comforted me by saying that the night was nearly over.

In 1985 I wore your loud paisley shirt, and slipped away to the city
You got me lost on the way home, our stolen goods stuffed down my pants chafing my waist

In 1987 I had a heart attack in the front seat of your car on the way to school
You opened the door and let me tumble out onto the asphalt, curious if I'd live or die

In 1989 I was born again.
You... survived. I knew it wasn't your fault.