at “hello”.
I couldn't go.
The cherry-bomb glow
went off as you smiled.
So, I sat for a while –
sixteen years.

You had me
at the turn.
I still didn’t learn.
The roses in my glasses
stuck as molasses
running tracks over my eyes.
Still, I minimized
the pain.

You had me
wrapped around
a finger
so tight I couldn’t breathe.
Then you blew me off
like a sneeze.
And I evaporated
in the mist.
That was the last
we kissed.

You had me
****** over you.
I was cut-up meat
like in a stew.
I floated in the broth
till I was bubbling froth.

You had me
raked over the coals
till the soles of my feet
were burned.
But I discovered
I was more than
a spurned lover.