Ode to Henny and a Cigarette by Warner Robinson

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