The loose cannon and the tarot card princess play
razor blade tic-tac-toe on the back of his hand but
their game ends in a backwards draw because
neither understands the rules of attraction.

Sliding through the crowd
she turns out to be more
Thoreauvian-chic than Southern belle
so I stop drinking and turn the other way.

Avenue breezes mix with an air of superiority
as Daisy chokes at the next table and wishes she could turn blue.
Fiery reflections coagulate in the downpour
and a decade disappears in the shiver of a spine.

The minister’s daughter is too hungover
to reflect on her night of passion
or hear the laughter at her own expense
but maybe that’s beneficial.
She supports women’s suffrage
but alcoholism is the main reason.

I laugh as purgation occurs and the banker wins in a landslide.

Literature