A.

I shouldn’t have told you my secret
A story that was just for me
I regretted it right after
But you looked so cute on the daybed
I had to have you again
I had to

I put Christmas lights up around my room
I feel like a little kid again
But the worries still trouble me
The thoughts still bother me
How do I manage to stand in front of you and act like the most important thing for me is the fact that I un-quit smoking

There are certain comments I made
That I now regret
I can’t tell if I’m making a big deal
I want your cute face right next to me
Letting me borrow your lighter
It makes the parking garage a bit brighter
What does it take to feel normal again

We’re watching the television and I want to tell you that I really don’t like cartoons
Especially when they’re made for adults
But I take a look at you
And you’re laughing like it’s your last day on Earth
And you’re spending it with me

So I wait for the joke to end and then I kiss you like it’s the last time I’ll ever see you
Even though that’d be such a drag
I already miss you

You’re driving me home on the freeway
And I already miss you

In the sunshine

Peach, lime and nectarines
You caught me off guard, wearing those jeans
Surreal nights
Sugar and spice
Mix it up and make ice, the kind that I like

I’m shivering in your jacket
You’re born for the cold
We do things our way
Not their way
You with scotch, me with flowers
We breathe in life, uncontrolled
You in the sunshine, holding a bunch of marigolds

Am I becoming predictable?
The glass house I live in
You’re fire and you’re staining my bedroom floor
Like dark coal
Let dreams unfold
I come rusty but I promise I’m whole

We melt each others’ ice cream
Dance like we’ve been together ages
You don’t just love me; you love me in stages
Like wildfire all over the pages

Lavender and lilies, green common sage
I remember exactly what I was wearing that day
Blue watch, shiny like gold dust
In me you put all of your trust
The real kind, what we discussed

If I was a sparrow and I chose to fly
How long would you follow behind?

April rain

I’m memorizing
The numbers to call
For emergencies

You, you’re there for me
Like a ship set for sail
I’m calm but I’m feeling pale
On the cusp of letting you go
Pausing
Trembling
So I have to let you know

With you
It feels like the April rain has washed me
Absolved me
A bathtub with rose petals
3, 4, 35
Put my photographs on your hard drive
We’re living past forty-five

Walk along the dock
You speak to me in paragraphs
We share our love and exchange laughs
Holding your hand is scary
Don’t know when the next time will be
There’s no guarantee
No security

Arm wrapped around me, in the living room we dance
I stare at the fire and fall deeply into the romance
A flight delay
Sweetheart, won’t you stay

I need a portrait to make this permanent
Don’t you dare look away
If I start to feel vulnerable
Know you made me this way

And that’s okay

Semi-automatic (dorsal fins)

Pastel colors soothe me
Boys, they think they can use me
I’m wearing the dainty lace
You dropped at the end of my bed
Won’t you take a look at me instead?

Your golden glow is irrational
My love for this country is national
I can always taste liquor on your tongue
I hope you don’t think you’re still alive and young
The roaring twenties have just begun
Touch me like I’m warmer than the sun
Do you trust me to hold on to your semi-automatic handgun

I have a habit of making boys cry
I’ve no idea, I don’t even try
Your living room is smothered in country beige
I’ve come in from the back-house with soft, grey sage
My little author, I see you’ve only written half a page
It’s alright to be shy when you’re at this stage

Bears and beers, so the license plate says
I’m a pretty girl so I’m the server in this place
We go out at night, spot tails and dorsal fins
Ride until I feel my eyes caving in

A lost canyon when I once knew
That I don’t want my little boy to grow up just like you
So I did what all of the other mariners do,

I drowned you.

Jigsaw puzzles (hot sunshine)

He’s known
For believing
That
I
Want
Him
But why would I want someone to treat me this bad?
Say the wrong things
When I’m at my most sad
I don’t know about that
Crimson, bleeding skies.

Tall
And
Bright
But he can’t see my glow
I sparkle like a radiant diamond
In the hot sunshine
February, I want my very own valentine
Darling you know I can’t make you mine
You’re plain and simply, just the wrong kind.
I’ve tried.

Slow
Dance
As
The snow falls
There will be other opportunities to visit 10,000 Lakes
With my future true love, several trips I will take
I’ll be swimming in deep waters perfectly wide awake
In azure blue
Soft shades and hues
With you I’ve got way too much to lose
And you know I don’t think-
I don’t think I like the abuse.

Silver shades and glamour
Meet you out front in my pajamas
Tell you to stop drinking so much
There’s so much more for you to see and do
I know that your love for me was never true
I remember that sweet day down in Malibu
Eyes like crayons
Hands shaped like hurricanes
For a boy, I can’t go insane
I’m sorry but I don’t feel the same
Someone please let me out of this game
Played it so many times, now it’s over
Crimson & clover.

Like a jigsaw
I’m like
Like a jigsaw
I’m like
Like a jigsaw
I’m like

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