I.
i’m the kind of asshole
who will stand on the other
side of the room the whole
night, silently hoping
you will touch me.

why ask for the things i want
when i can do nothing
and complain?

very sensible. perhaps i’ll go
outside and beg the dead trees
for money, next.

II.
all this is to say that
if i don’t ever find out
what your hands feel like
on the backs of my thighs
i will set this goddamn house
on fire.

I’M CHOKING ON MY COWARDICE WHEN I’D RATHER BE CHOKING ON YOU, by jones howell