Three:
Two in the front seat.
One in the back.
None of them pay mind
to the Scars that crisscross his wrist,
to the Discoloration and the Puncture Mark on her arm,
to the faint smell of Toast and ***** about him.
Because they’re all here for the same reason.
You get used to things.
You’d be surprised what you can get used to.
She wants to escape.
Who the hell wants to be stuck in a place where you can’t even smile?
He seeks his dead princess.
Unaware that the true love of his Afterlife
sits only a seat away
While the other is simply along for the ride.
Sleeping under a night with no stars.
Driving with no headlights.
To a camp.
Which is not quite.
He tells them:
Miracles only happen when they don’t matter.
For him: a speechless northern bride
For her: a second chance
For him: a gift.
He awakes.
A glance to the next bed.
He smiles.
She quivers.
She smiles.

With careful ease he kissed my hand.
It's chemical burns that make a man.
With every quart of blood lost
Salvation, gained.
I know this because he knows this
And you don't even know my name.
It's every broken bone and every lost tooth
That brings us closer to the truth.

You're so beautiful.
But you don't even know.
That's a small part of why I love you.
Our picnics in the snow.
I could die right here.
You said to me on the ice, that frigid night.
We laid there, in beautiful silence.
Your lovely face, the only thing in sight.
Time passes, and people change.
Feelings alter, things rearrange.
You did it on a lark.
We all know you're so impulsive
You know, we could try to make it work.
But in the end, you'll just find me repulsive.

Lying breathless on the cold bathroom tile.
I stole a glance.
You were happy, happy with a secret smile.

We met on the eighth day of the week,
The 30th of February
She had a face you can't quite remember,
but a presence you won't soon forget.
We talked about music.
We talked about art.
Over coffee I asked her to tell me her name.
She smiled sweetly and said,
"I'm No One."
From that day forward
I slept next to No One.
I'm perfect for No One
and only No One could love me, just like I love her.
The time soon came
(as time often does)
for me to make No One my bride.
We settled in a town called Nowhere
on a street called Never
in a house with a white picket fence
with a dog called Not.
We have big future plans,
and I will be the father of No One's children.
For better or worse.
Till Death do us part.
No One and me.

It was a night even demons howled for their mothers
Hand in hand, they tread softly with one another
Something was in the air, something was not right
Evil was invoked
6 am was midnight
The sky was painted a brilliant azure
All of their minds were made up
All of them were sure
Every child lay in a too still sleep upon their beds
Maybe it was in the butters
Possibly the breads
Every last one of them slipped out
Out of their houses
Out of their minds
The moon shone brightly on their skin
Their clothes were left behind
For it was onward and upward to rocky cliffs they trudged
Two by Two, tears in their eyes
Their fates were cast, they had been judged
Cruel terra firma cut into their aching feet
Wind slashed their naked bodies
There was only numbing cold, no welcoming heat
They had reached the top
There was no hesitation
Two by Two they leapt
The Sea, their destination
A town by rocky cliffs, just off the northern shore
A town of smiling faces
By sunrise was no more

These murderous galoshes will tear you from the knee up.
The other children stare as your ****** caps are exposed.
Twenty minutes more and you’d have been long gone.
Leaving only behind black rain boots, stained speckled red.

Living in green and blue hues,
We’ll drink until we’re dry.
You asked me for tea,
Something herbal,
And I brought you a beer.
What we have isn’t love,
It’s infatuation.
And I am just fine with that.

__________


Being with you was like tying a weight to both my feet and leaping into the ocean.
Even If I could release myself from you I’d drown before reaching the surface.