Elegy

Trust

I have gambled

away the guts to

admit what is

lost– all time

is temporary

& money the life

raft. I see

your bet I raise

you I will you

from the dead

I did not listen to my inner

monologue when it told me

to stay home and watch

The Novice. I went to Trace

Brewing when it was bright

but you sat in the dark

when I needed light. I

said one drink, one drink

only, then on the two-block

walk back the clouds

were down, they felt

attached to you and

I kept stepping on

plastic bags and

scrunched-up napkins.

To arrive home I had

to bisect my conscience

and wait: how much

of myself to give

after giving?

The water tower

in the distance

a perpetual blue

balloon.