for pete

[stitchsweet]

summer packaged in a parka
shielding you from the
peppermint chill of reality
speaking sweet candyfloss
unraveling from your
peachy-o lips to drip
sticky and solidify in patches
on my modest shirt sleeves
a crooked tic-tac smile that
rips my seams open
only to be stitched back
with strawberry lace
what i wouldn’t give
to peel the foil back
slowly and savor
every morsel unwrapped
under my bedroom fluorescents