1 poem

by leda santic

Ann Arbor Community High School

Cruelty of Tenderness

X marks the spot
Strategic, buried beneath ruined brutalist bouts
Bus passes by and you stop for a smoke
Pink Bic lighter in hand and
Pink Bic lighter in left pocket and
Two pink Bic lighters in your bag because
You keep losing your lighters,
Never find them once you hide them,
Breathe in heat, it kisses your fingers
It stains your teeth it gnaws on your insides but
You need to be warm.

The highway marks the border
Look across and see how
The gentle tone of dimmed lights
Through a motel room window
Is amplified by distance
By darkness by loneliness
Little proclamations of love
In their quiet voices
Technically silent but
Implied by the softness
And never louder than
When you're on your own
You want to scream and
You wish it would rain yet
You need to be warm.

In theory it's enchanting
But feel the cruelty of tenderness
When you're on your own
And find that
It is hardly beautiful and
It is never cinematic and
You need to be warm.