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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu0KsZ_MVBc&ab_channel=TheAvalanchesVEVO

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(author's note: a poem for pouring it on thick.)

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I

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Shaving cream, cologne,

Blundstone boots, velvet,

Fresh-pressed Levi’s - 

Going through the motions - 

Mouth wash, leather watch,

Jacket, after-hours deodorant, 

Old spice, tea-tree shampoo …

Je ne sais quoi … 

Mise en place:

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He put on his best sweatshirt, the green one

With the slight, darkened tones - the one that hugged  

The musculature of his arms, the curvatures

In his hips, the sharpened concavity 

In his waist, the hidden striations 

Of his shoulders, 

The lines that shaped his chest. 

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II

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Across the bar, she sipped a supple cocktail -  

A negroni, gin and vermouth, compari

With the orange peel 

Accoutrement, the subtlety and garnish. 

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Between them stood the Rubicon -

No going back - he rattled his dice 

In a gambler’s cup, kissed its lip for luck,

And then - with near feigned informality -  

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He made his die, cast, and then

With an urgency that’s congruent

With a short-suppressed anxiety, he

Almost unceremoniously, doughtily 

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Took his chance.

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