“black velvet
Petunia,
coming of age.
Early-blooming
Petals spread eagle
on the bed.”
|| shoo.shu ||

smoke no ****
snort no *******
and let human emotions ******* up

Zeus’s golden scales are hanging

around my closet doorknob.

The satin ribbons straddling an uncertain fate.

Two such similar– such distinct

entities

You could say I fell in love with your differences.

One side is bold

all caps writing,

spelling errors and innuendos.

I pirouette on my right foot.

The other is softer,

delicacy in strength,

precision and restraint.

I developé with my left.

And how easy would it be if I only needed one foot to dance?

If balance simply happened by willing it so?

But feeling comes first

and the relationship is symbiotic,

and I–

I am stuck,

waiting for the scales to tip.

Not every caterpillar
wants to become a moth or a butterfly.
Not every snowflake or drop of rain
wants to fall from the sky.
Not every petal of every flower
wants to tilt its face towards the sun.
Not every second of every day
wants to die the second it's begun.

****** she Wrote?

I only ever saw
Jessica Fletcher
type.

remember the time
we stole a car and hotboxed the backseat

remember the time
you swore no one saw us
steaming up the windows
with your lips between my hips

remember the time
we nearly got caught
sitting by the river
with your hands up my shirt

remember the time
the kid from gym punched you in the eye
and called you a ******

remember the time
he was sent home with a broken wrist
and I got detention

remember the time
we lied in your bed
listening to each other's heartbeats

remember the time
your mother asked
"How come you've never brought home
a nice boy?"

remember the time
you told me you loved me
and I wanted to slit my throat open

remember the time
I tried to say goodbye,
but all I could muster was "I hate you."

remember the time
we tried to coexist
and I destroyed my mind
trying to get rid of memories

remember the time
we said hi in a coffee shop
and never spoke again

remember the time
we met?
Mutual class friends
invited us to a club

remember the time
we hit it off by the bar
and you told me I was funny

remember the time
you invited me out
and then invited me home

remember the time
we made a joint blog

remember the time
we planned our wedding

remember the time
you introduced me to your dog

remember the time
I told you I was unstable

remember the time
I told you we would never work out