darrell.epp

Revenge

it's a terrible thing to admit

but 9 times out of 10

it wasn't about 'making love'

it was about making a point, it was
about getting back at all those vague
preppy girls who had ignored me in
high school so many years ago

she'd ask me what i was thinking about

and i'd say nothing

or, alternately

the word 'nothing'

then she'd laugh and call me
a funny little monkey

and she'd be right,
just like always.

Zombie

legacies of her watermelon-
scented hair cling to these
walls even--wow, look at
that--five months after she
was last here or anywhere
near here, not much has
changed, i cleaned the
place up, it just got dirty
again, i still love staring
out this window from the
pedestrians right up to the
clouds, across the avenue
the same lime-colored
strobing neon trying to
hypnotize me, 4 nights out
of 7 i don't resist, i think
i'm entitled to a little some-
thing and oh here it comes
it's just like a warm bath.

Darrell Epp's poetry has appeared in over 30 magazines. His journalism has been translated into Spanish. He blogs at www.darrellepp.com

by Don Snell

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