"Astral Weeks"

"Ain't nothing but a stranger in this world
I'm nothing but a stranger in this world
I got a home on high
In another land
So far away"

I listened to this song at the gym yesterday. I love those lyrics.

And Now My Brother

Then,
He reminded me of the zombie
in the movie
I watched the other night.
He was a stranger to me: a thin vegetable
growing out of the sofa,
and his sunken eyes
fluttered with sleep.
He snored like a lonely hole,
suctioning all the life from us.

I wanted to snap
him out of comatose.
I wanted to shake off his cigarettes
and cheap cologne.
Instead I slipped
down the stairs
brushing him off my fingers.

Now,
He calls me on the phone
and I swear
we talk with the glass
pieces from our old house,
and we let those rub at our hearts (ears).

When I finally hang up the phone,
my head sinks,
I have forgiven him once, twice,
bundles of times.
But he can’t seem to ascend
above the unnecessary drivel.
He is cemented in shame.

New Years in the Opa Lounge

He ordered me a diet coke with a half moon lime and two skinny straws. “You remembered,” I smiled,sipping the fizzy perfection. We talked about W. Somerset Maugham books, and we laughed at the woman shoving her backside around the room. Behind us, a screen showed a music video of an exotic girl twisting and weaving. The room spun with suit jackets and silky dresses as I waved my hair in circles, my cheeks pulsing warmly. You took a shot and grinned for the disposable flash. I threw my arms around Jessi, and we danced until our feet grew numb. There were so many steamy embraces when midnight flooded. I stood next to you waiting. The girls they kissed your cheeks, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t because all the desire spun inside me. I wanted to forget about the changes strewn upon me from the last six months. Instead, I safely juiced the limes into my drink.