After sending yet another 10 second video of my feet crunching through trails of leaves,
I apologize for being annoying.
This is the second time in the last week I’ve shot this same take,
A modern day “wish you were here” postcard on repeat.

“What?” he says  “Not at all, you’re so cute”

I feel my resolve break to a million pieces beneath my foot
as if the tree branch above me shed it too.

The first person who reminds you what it’s like to be excited for the morning
Is like the crisp air of fall.
Easy to breathe,
just sharp enough to remind you it’s new.
And maybe fleeting.

But then again maybe he’ll linger.
Everything else about him
Is opposite of the last man who made my heart race.
Which is how I know I’m not being stupid.  

He pauses between flirts,
Moves his hand slowly when he’s near me,
Casually asks for reassurance,
That it’s okay that he touches me,
That I’m okay with him liking me.

I’ve never been treated with tenderness like this,
I got used to being crushed between teeth,
But he holds my name soft on his tongue
As if savoring the taste.  

When the man from the past
Finds my number once again,
I start to shake.
I can’t tell if I’m angry or afraid,
And then I remember the leaves,
And the chill of the breeze,
And my cold fingers find their way to the block button.

“I’m proud of you for standing up for yourself.” he says.

'Twas said that long ago
the girls they'd flock
from far and low for
guys who kept them guessing.

Guess what?
What.
Idk bro, it's still a mystery.

She tried,
Lying,
To my face.

When I told her,
Not to miss me,
She wouldn’t is what she said.

Unbeknownst to her,
She didn’t realize,
Her lie.

I went close,
Pulled up her chin,
And, told her,
She’d lied.

Then, came the query,
How I knew?

Her eyes,
I told,
Always,
Would give away the truth.

She then tried hiding,
Her shy and sheepish smile,
I came closer,
Pulled up her chin again,
And, told her,
I knew all along,
About this,
And, all her other lies,
She told me.

With the exception of one,
That being,
The inevitable truth,
Which she never tried,
To hide.

That truth being,
She loved me more,
Than, I’ve ever been loved,
And, our love,
Unlike any,
Would continue,
For lifetime a many.

a little liquid courage
and foreign places
i dabbled in the art
of being flirtatious
slip on my sun dress
and smile wide
friendly introductions
and darting eyes
this feels like a game
and i'm a tease
but at the end of the night
let's have fun, won't you please

s.s

I watch you roll with
precision. You see me,
looking at you,
looking at me.

How do I turn this
silence into something?
A little tobacco, and other things
occupy the air in our shared
atmosphere. It is obvious,
we are both more than aware
of each other.

You look my way, I look away.
An endless game of tag between
our eyes. You stand and I
watch you leave.

I like the way your
joint sits on your lips,
but I'd rather it
be me.

Honey you must be
High risk, high return ;)
I've lent you my love
But you'll most likely be a bad debt
I'll have to write off
You've got a high risk of default

You're not a public offer
Won't give me the disclosures I need
Darling you're private debt
And the riskiest type

Babe, you're the riskiest investment
A structured product
Only the most accredited investor

Can afford your risk
Im only a retail consumer
Barely making ends meet

But you're a bad boy
Risky
And I'm nothing, if not risk-seeking