king
I. KING OF HEARTS
in the early hours of yesterday
i lost to a card sharp—
met his gaze too long and often,
let him read the reflection of my hand
in my eyes. well, victory
is not sweeter than his fingers,
nor more enduring than his leather
on my coat rack.
oh, but i can’t stand the happiness
of a game insincerely lost!
we’ll play another round tonight,
go in eyes closed and mouth open,
and i’ll make him my darling.
II. KING MAKER
only one person knows the exact colour
that my hands bruise,
has seen me paint #448079 over slate walls.
he knows my hatred intimately and
he knows i am bad by default.
with the musings and frailties of cowards
confined to later, later, later,
we sit cloaked and cradled in humid dusk,
bite into sour fruit piecewise,
share a bottle.
i have nothing nice to say—it’s all
rotten words under a #448079 sky—but
he takes it like honey.
he knows my hands do more than bruise.
III. KING OF MY DOORSTEP
last night i dreamed
that you
were standing behind the door.
knew it was you
from the silence, the static,
the sullen thrum of a no-nonsense heart
through the wood.
i think you
weren't knocking because your hands
were full, and you
knew that i knew that you
were just outside.