Caroline

16

"estival affair"

cool Cambridge nights with Kansas City boys
whose feet rest crossed, centimeters from yours
he ignores your bruises and you nudge his arm
your laugh comes out in a rasp; you miss the AC but he misses

lightning bugs, the kind of glow that makes it all seem mythological
he wants to do a piece of art based on this night
he will paint your stars and your English tears
he says it smells weird, the perfume of barbecue and

earl grey; you’re glad there aren’t mosquitoes, you
say, but you swat around your thighs
you want to go back before curfew; he pulls you back
down and says you can wait a little longer

Stay, stay; don’t make your nows your should have beens
and everybody’s fighting tonight, he says—
Everybody’s got their own agenda
You can take your risks, you can kiss your New York girls

You laugh because he laughs
Frowns when he does
It’s a new art form, this kind of mirror play
You love him deeper, harder
with your mind, not your heart
Count your minutes out in your palm and let him make up the difference
You have days to kill, time to burn
Maybes and summer clouds in raucous duet.