Poems from my Senior Manuscript

2 Poems from my senior writing manuscript for under grad.



Pins and Needles

The room shifts and strips,
Flake by flake, like peeling a ripe tangerine
When he cracks his fingers
It is so loud he thinks someone is crushing caterpillars
He remembers when he crushed them as a child
Squashed them against tree barks
Later the survivors turned into butterflies and flew around him
Reminding him how he killed beauty before it existed
His friend’s face melts
Everyone is laughing at him
But he doesn’t care and slips back into a trance
He lets the bed swallow him
The sheets are filthy with crumbs and cigarette burns
But today it smells like bougainvilleas and feels like silk
The feeling explodes through his fingertips
When everyone is ready to leave,
He uses a pin to replace his missing top button,
Then rolls down his sleeve.



Cigarettes and Tea

Her hair pulled back and clipped
A light residue of baby powder around her neck
The left strap of her blouse slides down her shoulder
When she exhales the smoke
She breathes the grey cloud slowly
You can see an imprint of her wet lips
On her tea cup
As if to purify what is left inside her.
She breathes hard
Cigarette smoke and mint steam
She wishes her mistakes can be ashed
With the flick of a thumb.