90’s Music Only Did Me Harm
“It’s a matter of instinct, a matter of conditioning, a matter of fact.” ~Barenaked Ladies
You were the only one I knew
who loved Brian Wilson.
The song. Not the person.
And so we were staring at cerulean ceiling tiles
trying to make sense of things
in italiano. Your tongue ticking
the last ‘a’ of my name
and asking why I sawed it off.
Stuffing snow inside skin
and saying my temperature would
not change. I was still in the icebox.
Yes, you left the blood spot
settled on porcelain. Gave me the
Run Around and asked
who would be on the cover. Asked
which me I was going to be the
day the ruse caved in and my hand would
cramp, demanded
why I always chose a façade of
marble instead of flesh and mud.
I’m not a great poet, but it was fun to try something new last semester and write some poetry.
