Observation

the
puckered
shape
lips
make

(when kissing)

is
the
same
shape
they make
when
saying

'no'.

Passive Misogyny

buying
a
gift
for
a
girl
with
money
that
another
girl
gave
you
earlier

 

Criminal

headlights
of cop
cars,
struggling to name me

pierce the
empty parking lot
of
the
convenience
store
i
just
stole
from

on
an
adjacent
playground's
swingset,
i
peer
across
the
highway,

dig
my
sneakers
into
cheerful
gravel,

and
swing
into
the
broad
veil
of
night,

alight.

 

City Lullabye in 3's

No glass
In the windows
Of this apartment

Tacked-up bed sheets,
Fluttering lightly
Over the throw rug's flattened garden

Dark 2nd floor
Keep me safe
From the howling sidewalk drunks

Tabletop
Barely lit by
The blinking clock on a VCR

Midnight cars outside
Answer each other
In honks that cough,

Goodnight,
Goodnight,
Goodnight.

 

[END]

© Patrick Porter 2002