Alice

I'm nearly asleep
when she calls.
I zone out thinking
about the beguiling power of her eyes
changing from blue to green
and back again, so
I don't answer
until after the 11th ring.
I don't look forward
to speaking with her, but
she has a way of polishing
the dull finish of boredom,
and blunting
the sharp edges of distraction.
When I hear the familiar,
smoky voice
I realize
I never really had a choice.

The house was cold long before the storm
left us without power but
without distraction for the first time
in recent memory.
Simultaneously we remembered when
we sat close in your parents' den
uncomfortable on the creaky wood floor
making out like high-schoolers
and paying far more attention
to what our bodies were saying
than the movie
it took an hour to agree on,
and the ice began to thaw.
They say
Everything happens for a reason

My Girls

My girls
hide contrary pigtails
and hula-hoop ears
under chunky wool and porkpies.
My girls
are first-place drinkers
that wear Summer
and breathe fire.
My girls
have thick vision
inky sleeves
and lightning bug feet.
My girls
love Columbia
and dance as if being attacked
by pitchforks.

Sunday Morning

I see Pru from Emily's Brookline window
but I'm not thinking of either
when Sirens wake
the city on fire.
Sheets of ice cling to Charles
hoping for another day together,
but conspiring to break them
are the sun and sky
each so brilliant the birds
home early from vacation
sing their praises.

Poster Sale

Today is your last chance to pick
who you will be this year
Wannabe Rasta
John College
Periodic Table of Booze
Anti-Authority White Guy
using Tommie Smith, John Carlos, and Muhammad Ali
to drive home the point
Oh the choices!
Reinvention
for only $5.99

My future self waits in line in front of me
paunchy with a round, doughy face hidden by graying stubble
worn by time and age
and sunken eyes that don't quite focus
on anything.
He says
Coffee.
Black.
I think
yeah that is me
and I want to ask
are you lonely
happy
does it all work out in the end?
I'm sure shrinks would have a field day
analyzing the order of the questions,
but I just say
The Same.

In Your Ear

Absolute Beginners
navigating narrow aisles
pressed together
between stacks of vinyl yesterdays.
We sift through New Wave
and Classic Rock
our fingers caked in dust
when we finally get to Soul.
Her eyes go bottomless
and her smile keeps stretching
while she holds court on Al Green
for at least five minutes
and I realize
this is the trouble
I don't mind.