.      when she reached
       her fingers brushed blue
       she went to reground but
       her feet had forgotten how

Men would break, bind,
and burn her some day,
of this she had no doubt.
But she let them crave it first,
until a reason had been found.
And when it was finally over and done?
The curse she gave was a hunger,
one that could never be overcome.

Marie was always placed in the middle
until suddenly ushered to be in front.
And when often mistaken for others
rather lonely, being a first, would it become;
but in the end ultimately determined
it was an affront not meant to be unjust.
Maybe it was a clever thing that was received,
a gift to make people always fondly think of another,
from givers that never felt a need to think of it any further.

She used three
prescription placebo pills
to sweeten her coffee.

You captured All and then it faded,
grayed by a sunburnt haze
before being stored away.
In the boxes under the bed,
        (fingered buttons, clever lips;
          Kiss- click-shutter-snap.)
filtered finely by dust
and conveniently labeled,
        (quiet snores, little hands;
          Grasp- click-shutter-snap.)
All that was forgotten, found,
and once again shifted around.
        (tall grass, wild spins;
          Laugh- click-shutter-snap.)
.

He thought of her laugh
in the wet winters,
remembering what it felt like
to live in the warm summer.

Wide awake champagne bubble eyes;
Kissing time already gone goodbye.