Is he the reason
I like poetry?
Did I adopt his taste for it
When he read me
Short, unfinished,
Alcohol-influenced
Pieces,
Reading them out in
That voice I loved,
Probably would still love
If I heard it again.
He paused slightly after
Reading the one he wrote
About me.

I didn't try my hand
At writing poems for a while,
But now they keep me safe
Like first love.