Duets (Fall semester 2006)

(This might be the first example of my obsession w/ collarbones...)

We waltzed all night
through empty rooms,
filled with echoes of people
I couldn't quite see.
Our first steps began
in the room with a leather couch
and windows facing the street,
then carried us into the smaller back room
with a ceiling fan
and the same dirty carpet.

We separated briefly
for cocktails and solos,
then re-found our stance
in the wood paneled hallway
with posters of rockstars.

The kitchen floor lay slightly sticky,
but we managed to glide
past the beer filled fridge
and sink full of used plates,
out the back door and into the night.
We swayed on the wooden patio
in the thick humid air,
with only the lamps inside
to create our makeshift spotlight.

I sat on the railing
to relieve my tired feet
and stared through the stench
of exhaled cigarettes,
sounds form a distant highway
attempting to whisk me away.
I contemplated taking my bows
and collecting my roses.
Then you wrapped your arms around my waist
and let your head rest on my collarbone.
We breathed together
through a brief intermission.

After awhile I let myself slide down.
Our feet, dirty flip flops and ratty sneakers,
resumed their all too familiar dance, and we
floated back the way we came.

At the front door I paused,
realized that early dawn light
struggled to break through the shutters.
I gasped.
You held my stare
as I dropped your hands.
I stepped back, and pivoted
to grab the doorknob.
You lunged for my hand
and spun me in a last
twirl, the finale.
You pressed me against the glass
and we kissed
with shouts of "Encore!"
ringing in my ears.