We sat in the kitchen arguing at lunchtime–
My eyes bleary and dry, sleep still stuck in the corners,
The taste of stale blood in my mouth
(as though I’d bitten off more of her than I could chew).
She raged as she delicately sampled her strawberries.
In our lives we fight wars
with cookie dough and coffee pots,
and boys from whom we steal much more than kisses.
It’s a pity that selfishness is no longer considered a virtue.
The first chills of autumn have stolen into our toes
as we adjourn to the diving board for Chips Ahoy–
a truce tenuously drawn and celebrated with a sugar high.
Another summer almost gone;
another reckless revel about to end.
This summer, one of growth,
the last, one of abandon,
and the two really aren’t that far apart.
I’ve been told that I don’t look people in the eye anymore;
perhaps that’s because I’ve looked through that window–
seen the true nature of the human soul–
and don’t care to see it again.
And yet I try to look again…
why?
Perhaps that is because
I have seen the nature of the human heart, as well,
and I choose to reconcile the two.

August first is here tomorrow,
our dog days have arrived.
Looking back,
the sum of us,
I see that we’ve survived.

I love you…..