Tonight marks a new love story. I shake
her hand gently. Her voice is smart, inviting
and each time she looks over at me I put on
a nervous fucking smile and burn through her
calico frames, want to watch her eyes forever
She writes fiction, was born in Massachusetts
I know nothing of Massachusetts. Been to Boston
once, Salem once, but not enough to hold
any sort of conversation. I ask if she likes Pittsburgh
She does. She asks where I’m from, I tell her
then tell her I moved most recently from
New Mexico. She smiles. She was in Utah
earlier in the year – “same as you, just living.”
I love that. I want to say more, keep her talking
I don’t know how so I let her go, catch up
with friends. I want to buy her a drink. I want
to buy myself three. I want to nudge her knees
with mine. I want to hug her at her door beneath
a porch light with a promise, and the warm white noise
of moths buzzing, zapping in sync with batting lashes
Alyse Richmond currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA, and is in the process of earning an MFA in Creative Writing from Chatham University. Her poems have appeared in various literary journals throughout the country, such as: Helix Magazine, The Found Poetry Review, Welter, Malpais Review, and The Lincoln Underground, among others.
