When those Heartbreakers Dance Inside You
Through four round windows
My eye squares up the eight-sided faces
Of old girlfriends who look like STOP signs
Big red nasty STOP signs
Each one holds up a hand like a ballerina
telling me my mom just called
your mom, she knows you are over here
bothering my family and somebody is coming
somebody is on their way
listen for the sirens.
Later she comes at me like a pie
filled with razor blades
she opens things up
spreads my rib cage
laughs straight into my chest
cavity, it’s not nice
or for the best unless
the next thing is she steps right in
cracks my spine, takes control
of my bowels and everything
at first it’s not a good time
then she says “This is it,
this is mine, this is all mine”
and then I think maybe it’s fine;
maybe it’s going to be fine.
~*~
Steve Sibra grew up on a farm in eastern Montana in the 1960’s, near the very small town of Big Sandy (about 800 people). He quit law school in 1980 and opened a comic book store, pursuing that career for 35 years. His work has been published by Jersey Devil Press, Jellyfish Review, Shattered Wig, Matador Review, Crab Fat Magazine and others. He currently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Stacey and a dog that barks most of the time.
Featured image by Sam Xu