i want: an elbow-crook to rest my head
             a cigarette to share,
             naked forms in riverbeds
             and universal train fare.

i need: breastplate percussion under my ear,
            a breathing on my spine,
             a sunrise built -- my eyes to sear,
             and send me to my sign.

I've seen the tell tale
bite of your lip
Your hands meet one another
Twisting fingers
Eyes quickly squeezed
Tightly shut.
You open them again
This time hardened
Staring up
**** in a breath
Then back at me
Straight in the eye
Lips stretched
Over a gleaming set of teeth
You tilt your head
"I'm fine"

I don't even know
What to say anymore
I don't know
What's the matter
But just know that
I'm going to stick around
And I can't make you tell me
So I'm going to wait
Sooner or later
I wish you would confide in me

You’re with me through the highs and lows
Whether I’m shaking hands or throwing elbows
You’re with me through the parties and the funerals
With coffee or tea and mostly *****
After *** and after I eat
In cold or in heat
After I shower and before I go out
When in luck or in doubt
You help to both stimulate and avoid conversation
You’re my muse when the record player keeps breaking
You keep my hands and mouth busy
Helping me to avoid accidents
The world says I should quit you,
But how can I betray my only friend?

the water has been calm for months,
not a wake has wandered from within this body
and still
something is amiss
i miss
you.

and not in some deeply important
or wildly romantic reminiscence
but in a way that makes my throat dry,
my hands hurt,
my eyes water.

it is not that we are cold,
but there is an absence of heat
and by that i mean passion
time is passing
and the water is rising
so why was it surprising
to see the tide?

My curfew is twelve

And tonight I ran home barefoot
Because my mother does not tolerate
Lateness, so it's 11:55 and I'm drunk
Running and wanting to
Stop because my feet are
Sore, but
I know if I'm late home I will miss a
Weekend of you, so when I run
With each footstep into gravel,
I think of the kisses
You put on my cheek, and
Run even faster,
Knowing I can't take another day
Without your gentle cheek
Kisses