# #sleep

3 poems

## [dial](https://chromato.graphics/dial)

two-tone composition  
unknown destinations  
an operator obsesses  
over pickup & hangup

one +1 more connected  
than 2. you will. _and  
the company that will  
bring it to you is me_

push digits into holes,  
keep spinning until you  
feel the click in place  
switch arms, hands tire

blinking countless lines,  
voice carrying fast & far  
on continuous copper wire  
silence costs us as much—

draw X’s & O’s in octothorps  
sleep clutching our handsets  
there is so much to exchange  
during long-distance calling

## [mirror](https://chromato.graphics/mirror)

i’m sorry i bumped into you.  
i thought you were a mirror.  
your clear surface showed  
what they saw of me then.

parties are meant for diffusion,  
but we focused instead.  
twisting the lens to almost  
make out what was there.

i’m sorry i couldn’t touch you.  
i thought you were a mirror.  
i feared leaving greasy prints  
for everyone to see.

museums of mailboxes and phones  
reveal past and future connections.  
a present —  
behind smudged display glass.

i’m sorry you didn’t see me  
waving at you in the city.  
i thought you were a mirror.  
you weren’t yet waving back.

being gay is hard sometimes.  
hotel bathrooms get steamy,  
you can’t always get the right angle  
before the image blurs.

i’m sorry we were interrupted.  
i thought you were a mirror.  
i never dreamed anyone would  
walk through it and shatter the glass.

i need to move but i can’t sleep.  
some things aren’t done yet.  
i’m hiding from sunrise, from men,  
under blankets and cardboard towers.

i’m sorry i looked so long.  
i knew you were a mirror,  
but i couldn’t spot the vanishing point.  
some reflections distort; yours perfects.

## [incision](https://chromato.graphics/incision)

half decade wishes:  
a leveling out.  
forbidden kisses  
the right choice, no doubt

central park consult  
king cole martini  
review old results  
discard bikinis

photograph the curves  
archives in high gloss  
the things i preserve,  
they’ll surely just toss

day before phone calls  
rage at the system  
its stops, starts, & stalls  
need to assist him

sleep, holding a heart  
cleanse every surface  
wrong name on the chart  
_of course you deserve this_

wave as the doors close  
_don’t use the “b” word_  
eat eggs as you doze  
the artwork looks blurred

a husband’s phone rings  
let me inside there  
treat you like a king  
hold cups as your care

bumpy ride that night  
late rooftop phone call  
two beams of bright light  
never forget fall

a week goes by fast  
managing your pain  
see yourself at last  
straight scars and no drain

i cry more than you do  
it hits me deeply  
this thing that you choose  
didn’t come cheaply

a body transformed  
like overnight oats  
years since your plans formed  
i’ll keep taking notes