Jessica Tolbert
we slept on a mattress in the garage
cool under the particleboard
on a bare mattress
it was humid and cool we woke in the sun
the garage had two small windows
when I was a kid
I had pads on my feet like I was a dog
I had a full beard when I was 12 they said
scraping at their jaw with my razor and some hand soap
shaved the hair growing on the upper part of their chest
to wear a scoop neck
but they shaved quickly and it left a rash
when I was sick I dreamt of paddling through empty space
together in a half furnished room they could see
my pubic hair through
a white polyester slip
they wore this lovely denim number
with the scoop neck
we were new then and my face was fluid-filled like
I recall feverish
one morning I did
because I was overflowing I was
distended I was a
warm globe of tears I
said something handsome
they said, oh
hoarse in the corner
paneled behind the bed rail
when I was sick I dreamt a lot about
calling an ambulance and they lay beside me