I stay awake at night
to write you a love song.
In the morning, you break
me down by line, insisting
what’s wrong with you.
I’m a batter now swinging, you, you, you
until that moment— terror — when
I find myself standing selfless and suddenly
alone swinging the bat at air
then dropping it all together
because what does it matter
if I curl up like a kitten at the plate
purr myself into a tight ball
still as domestic pottery
until that moment — relief — when
you step back on the mound
pitching wild
till my porcelain eyes shatter.
I am a Philadelphia native and have been in West Philadelphia for the past four years. My poems have appeared in Apiary and my published work to-date can be viewed online at www.LightHeartedAffair.com.