though the flame blew out
perhaps i can use the spark || to light something new
I’ve been digging through my memories lately for songwriting inspiration, and I felt the itch to do the same for haiku. So here’s the lovers edition—haiku about people I once loved or lusted over. No wonder there are so many love songs out there; relationships might be an infinitely mineable resource.
I’ll admit this feels more awkward and vulnerable to post than other topics, since many of these pieces concern taboos like sex and shitty interpersonal situations. But I just don’t think fear of judgment is a good enough reason to avoid writing or sharing.
These concern connections, big or small, spanning over the last 17 years. I had no idea how to order these, so they’ll be alphabetical.
after deep breathing
you nod, gazing, and confirm
“has to be enough”
-
all i remember
is your fist in the drywall
your lips, a thin line
-
at emporium
first kiss in the photo booth
how original
-
called me marié
before i chose for myself
fucking hated it
-
can’t think of fight club
without remembering you
odd euphemism
-
found a random page
read the poetry within
slowly inched closer
-
got jalapeños
on my pizza, and you said
i was a keeper
-
he called me a bitch
when i teased his sticker choice
even still, i fell
-
he called me puppy
said i would come when he called
i felt mortified
-
he wouldn’t call me
girlfriend, but wouldn’t correct
if someone else did
-
helped you write a song
you released on an EP
never got credit
-
how can it be love
when there's so much i don't know?
like your middle name?
-
in the end, ‘twas soup
that brought us to our demise
our two years, dissolved
-
it was déjà vu
same noodle bar, me and you
just one year later
-
it’s really okay
that your parents don’t like me
don’t need to pretend
-
my trust in you broke
when i saw all of your words
validating rape
-
new balance sneakers
laces tied, resting in grass
remind me of you
-
returned to the bench
and felt the ghost of you there
ripples in the air
-
scar on your eyebrow
from fighting, getting bottled
you shrugged, “that’s scotland”
-
she tasted salty
from mission tortilla chips
her lips soft on mine
-
showed me your “slaylist”
and i roasted you, but then
turns out it was good
-
stared at each other
unable to find the words
to capture our hearts
-
taught me football drills
memorial stadium
empty except us
-
the great debaters
a terrible backdrop for
our very first kiss
-
though you spent four months
trying to say you’re sorry
it was far too late
-
tried to impress her
with my dance moves at jolene’s
her face said i did
-
want to remember
how you looked at me with love
tinged with your sorrow
-
we met in the woods
to tick off second, third base
fuck, we were so young
-
we split cheesecake, wine
laughing as we went to bed
but never again
-
we went to jamba
the next morning. months later
you forgot my name
-
while we helped her puke
we had stared at each other
longing in the eyes
-
will i ever hear
the leaves in the wind again
and not think of you?
-
wisconsin of you:
shifting sidewalk formations
to serve as my shield
-
with his sternum scar
should have known he was heartless
from the beginning
-
wonder why you lied
for protecting my feelings
or saving yourself?
-
you had screamed at me
in the car, on my birthday
called me ungrateful
-
you had told me to
remember, so here i am
remembering it
-
you lean in again
your lips searching for my own
your eyes, kept open
-
you pluck my black hair
from between the pillows, sheets
erase my presence
-
you said you’d drive home
but yet you kept taking shots
so i kept you safe
Thank you to my friend Thomas Hutchings for this post’s accompanying photograph. I appreciate your creative vision and warm spirit.