Contributor: John Ogden

- -
I wish I could move like her.
I wish I could dance
through crowds
with all the grace
that she does

I wish each step I took
could be as careless as hers
as free of guilt
as lethal
as hers.

The shards of my heart
are sharpened
by all the friends
all the family
who thought I could tame her
who thought she was a ripe and easy
target
even for such a fumbling
broken
man.

One by one, their backs turn.
One by one, they give up on me.
So easy, she,
they say.
so easy, and even still,
she got away from you.

They just couldn't see
that it was only
me needing her
never she needing me.


- - -
John Ogden was conceived of a government form and a passing mailbox. He lives somewhere out in the woods of a rural land more akin to the fantasy realms of literature than real life, and his favorite dirt bikes will always be the broken ones.