Perky Poets Society

Remember
Fluttering eyelashes
Racing hearts
And whispered voices

Casually holding your hand
but raking my fingertips across
Your palm.
Holding on a little too long.

Stolen kisses in the parking lot
after dark

Casting down my eyes so no one suspected.
Keep it to yourself, you said.

Becoming a secret
Fading into nothing
Falling into that deep chasm that is
Love.

I’m too old and you’re too young, you said,
but my brain and not my heart could understand.

The voice inside my head began
to sound like you. It told me,
You’re not good enough.

An endless tug-of-war.
Go away.
Come back.
You’re wrong.
You’re mine.

Remember
A goodbye.
Watching as you walked away
A man, growing tinier on the escalator to a
terminal.
A plane.
Aching rip of broken flesh inside my chest.
Hot tears on frozen cheeks.
A broken heart held together by thick, ugly calluses.

A memento. A tiny voice.
You’re not good enough.
Remember.