the night is old
not young and I am tired
of heartbreak like everyone else,
wishing for someone else’s hair
to clog the sink, and I am looking for a way to stop time, or make me
unaware for at least a moment,
to gather desire like hydrogen
and helium, to be so hot that
the night explodes
with light—brown liquor,
henny straight like the man I loved,
you take me and make me something
I can’t handle, a burning thing far away from this troubled earth, and this cigarette between my lips, a soft kiss to temper my flesh.
Warner Robinson is a Black teacher and poet based in Dallas, Texas. His work can be found in Rise Up Review and Mixed Mag. Twitter: @seven_twice