Manmade Constellations

I listen to volatile music
sung in a sweet voice—
pacing the room
like I've forgotten something

irreplaceable.

I have read us
backwards & forwards
trying to find the place
where we fell in love—

was it when you sat
on your parents' couch
like an angry wasp's nest,

when you decided
I was an addiction,

the first time we shared
a poem?

Or was it before that—

when I saw myself reflected
in the dangerous eyes
of your plans
& wasn't about to let you go

without me?

I know what it is
I've lost—

your words,
purring against my neck
as I fall asleep
& every star above me

is one you've made.