Tom Waters
USA

(gone)

we're sitting on barstools
& you're wearing pin stripe pants
i'm drinking cognac
it's a mating dance
(and you're gone)

we're making dinner together
& talking about our day
your hands tousle my hair
& i kiss the back of your neck
(and you're gone)

we're tangled up on the couch
arguing lazily & watching
blondes on tv
forgetting what the fight was about
leafing through magazines
(and you're gone)

you're showing up at work
to give me cologne
wearing a bright orange jacket
snow coming down in sheets
pressed so close against me that i don't want to breathe
(and you're gone)

i'm giving you a poem
that you read with a smile
fold up & tuck away
in your little black purse
(and you're gone)

i'm bringing you flowers
dropping them on the table
hiding your jewelry
before slipping into the bath
the smell of cookies filling the kitchen
(and you're gone)


we wake up together
(you're gone)
holding hands
(goodbye)
my leg craned over your hip like a grasshopper
(don't leave me)
starting off our sunday routine
(please)

i'm groaning
as you work out the pain
from a lifetime of struggling
kneading away years of awful posturing
telling me to
keep breathing

you get ready to leave
hair bunched up in curlers
fluttering in front of your mirrors
applying lotions and perfumes
while i watch
tapping my toes
'don't rush me', you whisper

you're sleeping upstairs
& the song on the stereo
says 'this one's gonna hurt
like hell'
i feel a quick, cold sting
& try to fall asleep
alone

and you're gone.

 

Copyright, Tom Waters.
All rights reserved by author.