imprint

If I ever get a tattoo, it will be a small fleur de lis on the inside of my wrist. dba marked me as their own one night, and I knew I belonged to New Orleans.

*

  fleur de lis

walked in

last night

for $5

I received

a stamp

she took my wrist

turned my veins toward

the stars

and presented rubber

to my skin

leaving an imprint

of a fleur de lis

along the most visible

and fragile

feature of my

blood supply

later, that wrist would run along your scalp,

grasp onto your neck

and, ultimately,

push you away

today we kissed for the last time

and it was a sad goodbye

because, just as this city has stamped itself onto my skin

so have you

given me reason to believe

in rebirth

possibility

so have you

given me a very vulnerable sense of fragility

like those veins that could be sliced

instead of stamped

I'm scared of either possibility

and I know you'd save me

and don't intend to harm me

but

the most difficult part of any

grieving process

is mourning the loss

of what might have been

Dec 17 2010