"i just wish you didn't hate me." he said, exhaling the first drag of his fourth cigarette since we began our verbal wrestling match two shots earlier. his eyes always seem to look the most sincere when i know that he isn't. as green as the river that delivered me, perfect. i make fun of that **** leather jacket that he looks so handsome in and ask to borrow his handkercheif so that i can fill it with snot and spite. i hate this "talking" buisness. it's more like a contest to see who can make the other hate themselves first. he always wins. and even when i want to drink his existance into submission, i still just want to grab him by the face and kiss him... right on his filthy mouth. "obviously, i don't hate you," i finally reply. "i just hate that i give a **** about you." his silence speaks volumes. unfortunately, they're penned in a vernacular that i've never understood. the air gets busy and heavy, alive with the charge of confusion between insanity and ****** frustration. the steps to our ****-show waltz are well rehearsed... we slide over each others jugulars gracefully - nimble - on both the tips of our toes and the tips of our tongues, crossing lines in the sand with tact. hit for hit. shot for shot. we dance, in the angred space we share on the front porch in the light of the moon, leaving even the moths afraid to cross us. some people love without looking back, and some people look back without loving the crack in the wall in which they hid the sour facts. i guess that's you and me- filling the cupboards with what's already rotten, in hopes that what we don't acknowledge won't be a problem.