12 (Never Forever)
In Never Forever we live together,
eternal in terminal wanderlust.
The jokes aren't old and the coffee's not cold,
and we don't know the end of the end of us.
Should it always be roses and amorous crimes,
or tragic foreclosures of youths in their primes?
In Never Forever we love each other
estranged from the bridge at the terminus.
The wind isn't high and the river's not wide
and nothing is rattling under us.
Should it be nectar and honey and thyme,
or sirens and sirens and torn valentines?
Huffing and lusting and never enough—
hate tastes of iron and love tastes of blood.
first published in the anthology Devouring the Green (Jaded Ibis, 2015)