John Destalo

John Destalo Jul 2020

I was afraid
of this life

the next step
is off the cliff

I don’t know
where it leads

or if I will land

we don’t all
survive long

enough to
become more

than we were
given

to become all
that we could

have been

I was afraid
of this life

I always wanted
another

John Destalo Jul 2020

love letter

I saw her fold
it slowly

carefully

pressing her
thumb over

each fold
making sure

they were
perfect

lifting and
extending

her left arm

releasing the
plane into

the air and
walking away

she didn’t
know I

was watching
waiting for it

to land

John Destalo Jul 2020

doll face

she called
herself

maybe
someone

called her
first

but now
she called

herself
doll face

porcelain

delicate
breakable

painted lips
puckered

posing for
pictures

discovering
pain lives

in paint

John Destalo Jul 2020

the sound of duck

we exchanged words

the speed of bullets
pinging off walls

luckily we had
bad aim

or maybe we
didn’t want to ****

each other
we were young

we didn’t know how
to form complete

sentences

John Destalo Jul 2020

groundhog

I can relate

escaping to
your hole

we can never
dig deep

enough

we can never
create enough

holes

to feel safe
can we

John Destalo Jul 2020

scavenger

she smokes naked
at night

believes the rain

is not real
likes when the

sky is dark
wants to be

struck by lightning
believes it is

eternal inspiration

she laughs when
I say sorry

and forgives me
when I sleep

she is a scavenger
living off the

dearly discarded

John Destalo Jul 2020

tongue

only appears when

searching for
satisfaction

touching everything
it meets

saying life

is luscious
spilling over

it is too much
it needs more time

to explore