Alicia slipped through the door
before I hit the lights for the night.
She stood there.
And I stood here.
Alicia’s eyes rounded the corners
of my tight-lipped stare,
reflecting when the existence
we had eluded my gaze,
concluding the sting
of her leaving tangled
me in a straightjacket
with the weight of a freight train
approaching my self-esteem.
I sighed and released the tension
of her skipping town last May.
May Alicia’s return return my misery to last May.
Alicia dropped her bags
and closed the distance between us.
She glided her frigid hand across my toasty face.
Alicia shrugged off her coat,
maintaining an unbreakable eye contact.
She said she had to leave to know what she wanted.
I told her I’m not a toy to throw away
and pick up to recuperate her sorrows
to appease her comfort.
Alicia clouded my ambitions
when she left me blindfolded,
and the motives for staring at the ceiling
while the broken clock pulsed in my head,
counting the seconds until she reappeared
as I knew she would.

Twitter – @AC0040

(© 2023 AC)

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