You set
on the edge of the bed
like the sun
telling the same story
scraping the same scum
under bit nails under
your calloused thumb
you’ve got me
in a panic
in a pink dress.
I would have said yes to a death threat.
I would have
sucked your knuckles
all tender
as the television flickers
bright light swallowing your eyes
as the black and brutal eve
swallows us relentless
breaks us
like nature
is indifferent
to the death of us.
But you, blooming ruthless
and so aware
of my fight and just how violent
a Saturday night
dare could bribe
a girl to become
from her skeleton’s grip
spilling secrets out of hair loose
lips and cigarettes
laughing discretion
from the kitchen
sweet-mouthing
her cheeks to blush and
that blush dress up her hips.
Devon J. Boen is a writer who currently lives in Wyoming. She received her undergraduate degree in creative writing from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2012. Her work has appeared in several literary journals including the Eunoia Review and the University of Colorado Honors Journal. She is currently working on a full-length poetry collection as well as fiction and non-fiction pieces.
