Bitchy, Capable, and Gay

For Nina Simone, who was Young, Gifted, and Black

Dear, trust me, if I didn’t need bitchy

to achieve the other two, I would’ve.

A Woman Has No Name

For L. Villaseñor

Humans affair in designed bondage. When I marry

the names I erase are the history of the men.

Life, You Fucking Slut

His ashen face beguiled by what you’ve taken—

on his neck, lingers your cheap perfume.

Smoking Policy

For D. Mariel

Lit, I was, then snuffed. He left

searching for his new car smell.

Two Feminists at Mel’s Diner after Midnight

For. J. Esquivel

Over scrambled eggs and stale meat, we

kept telling her how beautiful she was.

Klepto

You were easy cause I cared; thievery is a habit

until cut off, fingers flicker, stub-born.

Devil's Stockholm

Iri-descent by design, you advocate

a utopia with so many white-outs.

Thus Spake The Man

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast . . .

it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing . . .

1 Corinthians 13:4-6, New Testament , English Standard Version

as told to me by a boy I dated

and is no longer.

Winged But Walking

I say look to the sky, but you

keep getting pulled under the blue.

Wedding Vows

For J.C. Allen

I will not pretend, I will not put on a smile,

I will not say I’m alright for you.

Lyrics taken from Martha Wainwright, “Bloody Motherfucking Asshole”

The September Stepsister

For J. MacGregor

I fell but gracefully into his arms, towel-less. Conjuring

all his love, he whispered, “what sizeable feet you have!”

Everyday That You Die In My Sleep

Bloated with words I can’t say, shrill

phone’s in a loop, rings and rings and rings.

Breakup #61

We didn’t stop loving

History cracked us open

Light Words

I hold a candle, and so do you, in this great dark room—

I only wanted you to see my part of the wall illuminated.

Hazardous Choice

I do it because it’s fun. Because it’s painful.

Because it’s a calling. Because there’s no because.

Prospectus

Not quite the artisan. He built

a chair but sold it as a table.

The Bride

You sit across from me with expectations.

Fumes as ammonia.

Some Strange Tale of Empathy

He was an astronomer. He’d seen too far.

So he left with a handful of pills. Like god. Is god.

Fracture

When romance is understood. Love breaks.

I was understood.