vickery park

maybe keeping my eyes shut will stop me
before i think too much

because the swirling rainbow pinpricks 
behind closed lids cannot distract me

from the buzzing neon reflected there
in your searching, inscrutable gaze

the haze of a scuzzy bar and glittering bottles
did not prepare me for

your fervid sigh into the dark of my room
or the longing brought on by miles on an odometer

and i’ll think of your hands

while mine grip the steering wheel

and i’ll wait for my phone screen to 

light up again with a 2 a.m. drunk text

and as state lines pull us apart i’ll pretend not to notice

your fingers crossed behind your back 

as you press send on the empty promise of

“i won’t be forgetting about you anytime soon”