What Color's Your Bedroom, Paul Asked, and: Kenny Asks About You
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What Color's Your Bedroom, Paul Asked
i said so blue you could drown in ithe wants a picture i want a violenceagainst me instead of this smile, pretend.if i could forget him for a secondi could drown in that not-knowing, insome pool on some hill, some gateunlatched and me toddling in, if hecould forget me for a second, suspendand float, placidly lapping againstthe tiled sides, maybe some dumbdeck chair unfolded, maybe burblinga hot tub nearby but i don't wantto boil, don't want to die, maybe
i've said too much, he said your bed-room and i felt exposed, he askedfor a picture, felt more exposed everyday, wore less and less as somedare, pools on the local news, kid-killers with slides to the deep end,little steps no real help, can he tell
i'm in rush, flushed i'mwaiting, in bedroom, in bathingsuit, in posed repose i'lladmit i didn't knowone day i'd be downtownsaying to someone's father so blueyou could drown, untyingbikini top, meaning some [End Page 127] hopped-fence, stranger's unwatched backyard, some fool,if i won't sleep at least i can drown in it, found next day,
face down, him downtown waiting,at counter, still some new shit to say.
Kenny Asks About You
like you're some key to
me, what does your boyfriend do, what does helike, what do you do together, why do you like
him, he likes to pin me down into the cornersof his questions, tells me about his band, hisart, his dayjob, says round it up to six, you work
so hard here, you need someone to support you,stands in line to pass me a napkin with a lineor two, now you write the next one, let's see
your skill at poetry, why should you be shy, ibet you let your boyfriend read everything you
write, why not me, we spar so well, i've nevermet a girl so challenging. he was the firstperson i said boyfriend, my boyfriend to, not
knowing it meant a daily quiz, meant he must bebig and strong, huh, would beat me up if he knewhow i spend so much time here with you, round
it up to seven, every girl needsto be spoiled. let me spoil you. [End Page 128]
Laura Brun is a poet from small-town Kentucky who lives and writes in Pittsburgh. Her first chapbook, It's Alright to Be Seen, is available now from Dancing Girl Press. Her poems are most recently found or forthcoming in Cosmonauts Avenue, Bodega, Lambda Literary's Poetry Spotlight, and others.
Visit www.laurabrun.blogspot.com.
