After you’re gone, I’ll learn to kiss again
I’ll form my face on someone else’s cheek
And hold onto his belt loops when he sees me
My guard held once
Obese against predators
Baltic beaten and salted with wind
It fell to nothing
But has frayed
Though worry not, my dear
There is nothing here worth the time or labor
Of reinstalling walls
Homes in Detroit are a dollar, dear
And skyscrapers are mere millions
Not because the architecture isn’t beautiful
Infrastructure firm
But simply because nobody wants to live in Detroit
There is simply no artwork here, my dear
Without the bulletproof climatization
That control freak Mona would’ve sogged too
Frayed at the sides like a childhood Oreo
Forgotten in milk
I have nothing sacred, nor worthy of the
Calculated stealth of thieves, my dear
So if you were here to steal from me
I’d laugh at you if I had any laugh left
And when you’re gone, I’ll kiss again
I’ll form my face on someone else’s cheek
And hold onto his belt loops when he sees me
Caroline Mahoney