(no subject)
The hairs on your chest curled menacingly
Black against a background of dawn and new sheets
Already speckled with disappointment and alacritous self-deceit
I tried to count how many breaths you could take without making me shake
(Mother, you taught me how to fear
far better than you ever taught me to play the piano
Discordant hymns of loss hum beneath the sounds of running water)
I run my fingers across your imaginary words
Caress each one in turn
Wondering which in this firing squad is the true harbinger of affection
Black against a background of dawn and new sheets
Already speckled with disappointment and alacritous self-deceit
I tried to count how many breaths you could take without making me shake
(Mother, you taught me how to fear
far better than you ever taught me to play the piano
Discordant hymns of loss hum beneath the sounds of running water)
I run my fingers across your imaginary words
Caress each one in turn
Wondering which in this firing squad is the true harbinger of affection