Today’s Poem

The Long Terms

I had just closed the door

at your last word. Stepped

like lighting in two ten and half

shoes on the hardwood.

This is what long term

relationships look like, she said.

Her in the corner of a bar leaning

into some guy from work, me stewing

in the wash back and slowly growing

cro-magnom in my grin.

Therapy ain’t cheap.  I’ve spent

too long studying stagecraft and nonverbals,

writing’s not on the wall—it’s who touches

who first and how long until they break

doors, red lights, clips, zippers, and nylon. 

-Jason Braun