the looks

We were well past the growing up

Remember the s on our backyard deck
when the woods would expand so
the world leaned slightly to the left
and between us we feared the vortex
i swore it sucked you in
you know that little elf around the corner
watching me melt into my chair
his singing made my ears bleed
until at once he’d become the air
one two three we breathe
when my arm sensed your touch 
i howled murder
beneath the death of me
beyond the grasp of me
for ninety seconds my bones
they’d creak in rhythm
my bones were my skin and
my face became yours.
well, i could never understand
the appeal. 

Remember when you’d
lose your temper
and i’d hang mine
from shoelaces so
you could bat at it
with your brevity?
and together
the four of us
we’d dangle from
a clothesline
until the crescendos
woke silent sleepers
or the whimpers 
made hearts bend backward
well, i hoped to never comprehend
my disillusions.