You said Men like me eat little girls like

you for breakfast every morning with

milk and sugar on them

I said I thought you wanted a

different kind of life

You looked behind the chair for the cat

Little girls are too chewy to put much

sugar on

I said I never saw the sky look so black

as it did last night when the stars

came out they were so clear they looked much closer

You said When you paint your

lungs with the color of

your soul no one can hear

you breathe

I said So?

You said I walked down to the

river with the dog and watched the

sunlight on the water the river

was up and the water was moving fast

I said I wasn’t hungry just then

The cat came out from under the

chair and stretched and looked around

the cat said I don’t

want to sound presumptuous but

there’s no place to put my

wings

The chair yawned into its arm

You turned on the tv and watched

for a moment you said Men

like me eat tv’s like you

for breakfast fried with

gravy

I said You’re just jealous because

you’re always wrong

I said I have the body of a

14 year old

The man on tv looked at us

with disdain

The cat shrugged and licked its back

You said You’re missing the

point totally

little girls are a dime a dozen

You said Just try to prove me

wrong on this one honey

I said I am the apple of your eye

I am the powder on your nose

I am the wink in your potatoes

The man on tv is wearing a

plaid suit he is very dapper

he says to a woman on stage

we mustn’t get personally involved

I am thinking of the time you

tied my finger to the steering

wheel I look up at the ceiling

The ceiling looks away, unable

to meet my gaze

You pace back and forth wringing

your heart

You say What we have here

is a little piece of paradise

The man on tv snorts with disgust

he reaches out his hand to turn us off

by Cher Bibler