Kara with & without

You were proud

of the 6th beer, unopened

left alone in the morning

the first time you saw her

after

and that in her bed

you didn’t ask for more

when her arm slipped across your back.

It seemed like when you met

the hot tub on the roof

was a bookend to the sparklers

lit on the top of her building

a few days after New Year’s.

You linger over her

like the last few moments in bed

when the edges of your dreams

can be traced

at least.

Don’t feel poorly

when you open that IPA

or let her fingers fall a bit lower

than is right for friends.

Sometimes you have to live a half-life

with someone who doesn’t want all that you are.

Less being certain with every return.

Try not to haunt

the second part

as the smoke

she left in your room

thin & clinging

to your untucked sheets.