Tigers without Stripes

the hours spent themselves. in safety pins and yarn. fiddling with the margins as the edge of the paper tore. her touch was a staircase. her memory a storm. all the math. all the history. wilting like discarded party favors. the monsters and the heroes. fussing over broken potato chips and empty soda cans.

the bridges debate the water below. theories of drowning in chocolate and flowers. it's over. or isn't it. this hollow compunction to quantify the hole.

time's clumsy blade. sawing on the flesh. searching for the meat hiding beneath the surface.

touch's nervous sprint. all finger paints and crayons. in the crook of tomorrow's dress. the thoughtless muse. the deceitful patron. as sober slips its needle in.

her silence a puzzle. the miles evaporate. in a stunning abyss of consent. choices dissolve like ice. as wanting finally finds its end.