We buried a lot at the beach
/it’s just that waves hold better than dirt/it’s just that I never expected for you to hang around/
It’s just that
I’ve always chewed with my mouth closed, and you’ve always felt entitled to seconds, so when you think of it that way
What I mean is
I know how to keep a secret
What I mean is
On a long enough timeline, monogamy is always a failure
I go back at midnight to sift through the turrets because water weight has never scared me, I’m clawing at the grit of it now, nails dug in deep, I’m excavating your eyes all bloodshot in night-air, I’m dredging the lake for the way I could feel the coke in your veins in my bones, and what I’m trying to say is that we were just two skeletons pressed together
What I mean is
We should have dug separate graves
What I mean is
/it’s just that/
I’ve always wanted to swallow somebody whole
Emily Perkovich is from the Chicago-land area and the Editor in Chief of Querencia Press. You can find her on IG @undermeyou or Twitter @emily_perkovich