Better go. My mind is going places
it shouldn’t. See you in the morning.
The door snaps shut behind him.
My mind is going places
it shouldn’t too. I call Trey,
before my body follows.
The Downside
About counting on someone else
to help you do the right thing
is they’re not always available.
In Trey’s case, that’s often.
The downside of smoking ice
is when you can’t get hold of
someone, sometimes you get mad.
In my case, that’s tonight.
As usual, I get Trey’s message center.
Tonight, I need to hear his voice,
live in my ear. Where are you, damn
it all? Can’t you just once pick up?
Buzzed, antsy, I try TV for company.
But late-night tripe won’t backfill
the gaping hole inside me. The longer
I sit here, the more cavernous it grows.
I go into the bathroom, turn on the
shower, hot enough to redden my
skin, scrub away the building desire
in a release of sandalwood steam.
No such luck. All it does is remind
me of sharing this small, encapsulated
place with the person I love, the one who’s