the morning after.

i'm gonna be published soon
wanna hear it?

::crickets::

no, i didn't just write it last week.

Sleeveless.

She's waiting
for tank-top weather,
wondering where
she'll keep her heart
when it finally arrives.

All made up.

She said, I like your eye makeup.
I said, thanks.
She said, how do you do that to your eyes?

I should have told her about
the drinks and the table
and the man
who didn't want me,
but wanted my friend, and
the champagne soaked sushi
and the talking to the old
him until 3 in the morning and
how I didn't touch my eyes
that morning except to
rub away some of last night and
the sleep that crept in later
than it wanted to.

It's just eyeliner, I said.
It makes you look exotic, she said.
I thought I just looked tired.