1. Love

he loves her.
he told her this
as he twisted her hair
around his fingers
until it hurt

she loves him.
it was sticky and humid
when she told him
under a eucalypt
much older then the two of them

he looked dead in her eyes
when he said the three important words.

those three simple syllables
didn't seem enough
for such a heavy burden

when she said she loved him
she looked into her hands
at the soft skin
not yet weathered
by the sandpaper of time

these words made her feel old
not happy and joyous

i love you,
she whispered

and her mind cleared
and her words
sparkled into the sun




2. Cycle

she leaves
but only for a while

she'll be back in a week
he knows this
because she told him
when she hugged him goodbye

she waves back at him
he doesn't wave.
he never does.
but he smiles.
that old smile
inward
guilty
sercret

he turns on one leg
and goes back inside
to watch her from the window



3. In Decisions

she's been gone three days

he thinks of her
even when the girl
he's with tonight
strokes her hair

he can't help it
he says
to others who tell him
what he'd doing is wrong

he's too nice
he thinks

it isn't his decision

it's his lack of...