Heartache

Once I wore my heart on my sleeve

and it got soggy and wet

when the water from the tap

in the dirty bar bathroom

where I was

washing my hands

kissed my sleeve

and all night it felt

heavy and soggy and

men with popped collars kept asking

why I was wearing

a sweatshirt in a bar

and I said I needed

somewhere to keep my heart

but they couldn’t hear me

and after a few more drinks

I slipped my sweater off

and left it in a corner booth

with a guy named Daryl who had dead eyes

while I went to grind up on strangers.

Always easier to do

when you’re not taking care

of your heart.

(Written in Wordplay Workshops April 24 Workshop collaboration with Pride Not Prejudice Fair. Inspired by the poem “Darn Lucky” by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.)