Old dog slobbers

She wants

me to inhale

when she exhales,

for her to be my

breath,

but we are only

sharing waste

between us,

poison from the cells

to the cells.

*

The walls are skin thin

and wet

when the neighbours in my condominium

mow the lawn

with their teeth

but not with too much bite,

just like an old dog

who knows how to pick the bone apart

without slobbering everywhere,

just a dip of tongue

that is formed enough

so I,

along with any elementary students

who has mastered

the first step into adult communication,

can mouth

the words on her

lips.

*

My girlfriend,

my darling love,

slept with someone else,

a lovely darling,

and I am here,

a darting love,

punctured, worn,

and faded

because I dared to

love.