#NaPoWriMo – Day 12: “On the Floor of Your Apartment”

 

 

On the Floor of Your Apartment // by Jennifer Patino

 

He tells me love is the difference between the green apple & the red,

but hunger makes me ignore colors so I don’t see a difference

until he takes a bite from one

 

Those perfect pearls imprinting their message

on the fruit’s thin flesh

 

We walk, dreaming,

then head home & kick out the jams on vinyl,

psychoanalyzing every bleeding lyric

 

The world is our backyard,

& through the dying and the screaming

we can still laugh

because we’re stuck in the good ‘ole days,

 

The times of the Catholic veils & the kickball games,

the bruised knees & the muddy playgrounds

 

We can ignore the current state of animosity

& the humanistic games,

the bruised & battered hearts,

& the filth of the streets

for this one perfect moment

when all that is said to be real doesn’t mean anything anymore

 

The rain falls down through the open sky light

cleansing our naked souls in purity

 

The diamond droplets dance on your eyelashes,

your tongue traces your lips,

& our eyes stay open,

mirroring images of each other

as we float on together through this afternoon sun shower abyss

 

 

Author’s Note: I went with a revision today because I’ve had this poem in my mind for the past few days. One line in particular kept standing out to me so I wanted to revisit this piece from 2006. I’m a lot happier with it now.