She holds her tongue for a gray man
with a smoking jacket that whispers ‘I love you’s’.
She holds her tongue for crumbs on countertops,
hairs on bathroom sinks, unwashed hands,
and mornings with unbrushed teeth.
She holds onto passionate kisses and long embraces
under sheets that heat up to a thousand degrees.
She presses on for hard fought moments of desire.
She gasps for air but the smoke blocks her way,
burning a hole in her lungs. She wishes it were only a pebble
in her step along a winding path as she treads lightly.
With every breath, every painful breath, she continues
battling the urge to run from it all. Has she really been
misguided to a polluted watering hole,
lured by the promise of the sweetest refuge?
She looks down and decides it’s time to change her shoes.
Coffee Shop Sessions 