
Every morning,
I used to send positive text messages
to my closest friends,
hoping to bring a little sugar
to these bitter days.
Lately,
I have stopped texting people.
I have stopped calling.
I stopped singing.
I stopped laughing.
I stopped masturbating.
I stopped picking at old scabs.
I now lay in a grave
of matching pillowcases
stuffed with mismatched pillows
waiting for someone who loved me
to show me love in the present tense,
waiting for someone to resurrect this dead thing.
Charles K. Carter (he/him) is a queer poet from Iowa. He is the author of Read My Lips (David Robert Books) and several chapbooks. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram @CKCpoetry.