Mile High Meet Cute

There is no song 

in my playlist that accurately depicts 

how close my last close call was 

My first lesson in color theory 

The blue Gatorade that turned my bile green

My favorite nightmare

takes place in my childhood home and the woman 

outside my window is just a branch

who turns into a stray 

when she finally catches up to me.

In my least favorite dream 

I know every single word

in every single tongue 

but I can't use one muscle to speak 

By the time I was 21 

I had spent the same amount of time

vacationing at the beach as I had unable to walk

The ocean is salty 

smells like a transcontinental sweat 

Yet I still can’t wait to do a little more than kiss when I get home 

Onions and all

Grandmas goats get tipsy from the heat 

in the same soft way

gas stations illuminate dead cigarettes on wet cement

like seashells under a flashlight 

I send my boyfriend breakup poems

to edit about the other boys

who’ve attempted to make sand castles on my feet

He appreciates the line about destroying socks

Bets I like the line about being unable to swallow

And the lady who can curl her dreams at the end like ribbon 

My favorite line from my favorite movie

I'm so sorry, I am so sorry  I wanted more 

My latest lesson in color theory 

learning the difference between chartreuse and charcuterie

Published in Sprung Formal, Issue 17, 2022