Rocko

"That felt like forever,"

and I meant it

as the sound broke through the noise

of the Saturday morning experience

I was having

and enjoying

 

I caught your eyes 

and you hid from my blurry face

behind the thin flesh

as the phosphenes flickered blue and red and yellow

like my father's old television

that clicked loudly when I'd turn the dial

 

I buried my burning face

In the soft fabric

that's been through the wash one too many times

and I smelled fresh ink

in the sensation of mallets

colliding with my temples

 

You wrapped all of you

around all of me

and I felt the crude, harsh lines of your figure

against the curves of my hatred

I held my breath

and released my soul

 

The building collapsed around us

and in the debris I found photographs

of a face I only vaguely remember

and that old broken heirloom

that I still keep around

even though I know it's not worth anything

 

But for that one second

when my body and spirit connected

and my consciousness slipped away as I fell into a new dissociation

I woke up and understood

that we were existing only for this

and it felt like forever