by Susan Simonds
Between a Light and Fire
Between a light and fire
arose
Your buried appetite
again
last night
I found it
in a shoebox
in a poem
Every other word a bullet
Every space between a spark
A younger pulse of mine
was trapped in a notebook
under the trigger of you
How long had I lived
between my past
and your presence
Something always
fired me back to you
I chose to cross out
the target
drew a shield
to ward
off the shot
Ocean Eyes
We did not have a song
but if we did, it would go like this you
really knew how to make me cry
berating me on the subway platform angry at being torn from the club so pissed I was surprised
you got it up at all that night I tried and tried to find my voice
how can I order words
in order to make you listen
[no, no, no, no]
but you continued, stabbing me over and over until finally
I slapped you hard enough
that you rolled off to sleep
and I rolled into a ball
into the memories my mind
now showcases on repeat
you sobbed the next morning
could not possibly believe
you really know how to make me cry
when you give me those ocean eyes