Goosebumps

You come & go
as you please—

a ghost disappearing
in & out of my bedroom walls.

I am tired of this war—
the daily battles

of who can care more

as you're slipping
beyond the horizon line

& away from the future
you tell me is still
in store.

Or storage.

Maybe I should
take another lover—

one with arms like
oak branches
& a mouth that tastes
like saltwater taffy—

but these visions of you

& your trained silences

still leave me breathless.

I'm biting my lips
like smiles
& playing with Braille machines
to texture my skin—

reading the bumps
like runes that could tell me
how to live.