He is holding her.
They look very much in love.
Her knees buckle.
It’s 9:53am.
From two blocks away her body goes lifeless.
I was going to get cigarettes.
As I get to them she comes to.
“Are y’all okay?” I ask.
Her eyes roll back in her head
As she says “yes”
“She just.….fainted”
Stumbles out of his mouth
I can smell the E&J seeping out of their teenage pores.
An unforgettable scent.
She looks familiar.
15 or 16.
Lost.
The kind of pain I fell in love with at that age.
His eyes look like mine the first time I watched someone overdose.
He is terrified.
I come back with the biggest water I can buy.
I look him in the face and tell them to take care of each other out here
And walked home
with the ghosts
Silently agreeing
It is too early for this.
—andru defeye
Flommist Andru Defeye is the Guerrilla Poet Laureate of Sacramento. Copyright © 2017 Andru Defeye.
PLEASE SUPPORT FLOMM
TIPS + DONATIONS DISCREETLY ACCEPTED