do you taste me on his lips
when you kiss them goodnight?

do you imagine me with my sleepy gaze
when you wake up in the morning
and the other side of the bed is empty,
the sheets pristine?

when he praises you on your promotion
how do you feel when you realize
his words are echoes of mine?

does he ever wake up in the middle of the night
to hear you whispering on the phone
to a girl whose name he's never heard of?

did your daughter question why
there was a lipstick stain
on the sleeve of your shirt?

did your son ask you why
you were half an hour late to pick him up from school
and when you came, you were a mess?

do they ask you why you took the kodak off the shelf and brushed off the dust
do they ask you why you wear that suit and those jeans more often now
do they ask you why you seem to be haunted by ghosts of your guilt
do they ask you why you started leaving your hair long
do they ask you why you started smoking a pipe again
do they ask you why you come home late, late, later
do they ask you why you don't do horror any more
do they ask you why you
do they ask you why
do they ask you
do they ask
do they

"i have a question," you say to me,
drunk and drowsy, tangled hair and sweaty palms,
"do you love me?"

but

why do you ask me if i love you
when you're the one leaving me
every
single
night?

do you
do you think
do you think I
do you think I am selfish
do you think I am arrogant
do you think I am deserving
do you think I am just a fool
do you think I am too young, too naive
do you think I wanted this wanted this i never wanted this
do you think I love you of course I love you, I love you, I love you
do you think of me

the simplest of questions and the most complex of answers, the most
do
you
love
me
(back)
?