She said it close to my ear,
Like a goose down comforter
Muffling a cat's purr.
Softly exhaled,
Sweetly hortative,
The words danced through
The monolithic inner halls
Of my ear and mind.
The sounds of shuffled socks on floorboards
And velvet-gloved hands
Tapping walls
Echoed like the sea.
This pillow had never cradled
My thinning hair
So delicately,
With such maternal
Firmness and warmth.
Lost in the blankets
And sheets,
My hands and feet slept
Like post-carnival children.
She said it like a phantom
Alone in a field,
"Get the **** out of my bed,
Or I'll scream."