Unaffiliated Suitor

Unaffiliated Suitor

it was all the days happening at once
black lines down the calendar

those smooth stabs into the skin
dazzling words and folds along the years
on the inside, supporting struggles

my coos, my whispers, my long sighs

ideal in the way of fantasies even

ways, flows, that's how I do it now
in the weeks and months to come
I've given over to the thoughts
the ones unpushable

a vest zipped up in the rain

I'll slip into patches
of paint crayon pastels swirl on my heels
unable to sift rings from spices
from carpets from quilts from trouble

of the common story