black lighters
chipped fingernails
i got rid of the old me
and i miss her like hell.
short hair
no cares
no trace
of what used to be there.
i turned into everything you hated
thinking somehow
that that would erase you from me.
transform into someone you never touched.
someone you never loved.
but now i’m just that
someone you never loved
someone you never could have.
and i’m sorry to say
that it didn’t work.
now there is no turning back
this is who i am now
and i have to live with that.

Of age old lighters
All vast and sundry
These are what make up
My father's hobby

Stuffed into his desk
Were such novelties
He could have boasted
Twas as large as he

Regular raven
With his jewelries
His full collection
I never did see

Only when he passed
Did I lay my eyes
On all the treasures
That drawer did hide

Every size and shape
Of lighter there is
I guarantee you
There was one of his

So much like his gauds
His wondrous person
Never came to light
Til he had passed on

my net worth is three sheets
of crumpled paper and
an empty shot glass.
i am not pretending to be
anything refined, sophisticated,
worth your time.  

i’ve ruined the best things in my life
without even realizing it, absence the
only clue; there was no bother to tell me.
i am left with flaws but i am not sure
what they are because I’m too
much of a liability to be told.

there are empty matchboxes strewn
all upon my cluttered mattress
with holes burnt into it.
i have a tin lunch box full of
dead lighters; six years worth.
i never throw them away.
my bad habits exist in
every flameless flick.

will you increase my net worth
by leaving a pack of Marlboros in
my mailbox? i might not be deserving
of an explanation, but it would be
a nice peace offering. if you add
a lighter to the mix, i’ll make sure
the amethyst fades and you
no longer dream of me.

I've had lighters that last longer than you.

A thousand wishes were sent to the stars,
Along with lighters in the sky.