Winter Rain

by William Teets

Before I left for good
she asked if we could embrace

Wanted to know why memories are mental and physical
and why both hurt so bad

If I remembered our first kiss on West Fourth Street
in front of Jack the Ripper’s Pub

l told her I didn’t but remember kissing Sally
on the eighth-grade school bus ride to Playland

And like some antique porcelain doll
spiderweb cracks spread across her face

I felt like such a villain for making her feel so bad
and turned into winter rain

Rain that falls on schoolyard children, prison yards,
and old men walking their dogs past boarded-up buildings

A menace of an ill-faith love
penned into a dark fairy tale

A coldness that must be recognized
as surely as tomorrow masquerades as today

© 2024 William Teets  All rights reserved.

Click or tap here to see William Teets’s profile.

Use the “Leave a Comment” form below to submit comments on this piece.

confetti