Your mind-fuck questions
demand answers without sourcing
the heart’s own database,
bypassing what you really want to know.
Is your chess gambit
for a win or stalemate?
When you asked if I think
men and women can just be friends,
you wrapped your words
like clever packages.
But,
was this question
an opening salvo
or a door closing?
All that pulls pushes,
pushes and pulls,
pushes towards you
as it pulls from me –
an unbalanced exchange.
Are you really wanting to know if I think
you and I can be just friends? Or is this
an insinuation of desire that parallels
my sleepless nights, a longing to further complicate
all that’s complicated?
Our worlds, in separate orbits,
spin in trajectories mapped to collide.
It’s not a
matter
of can
but could
or should.
If you source your heart’s own database,
you’ll find the heart of my answer there
orbiting together, entrained,
your next words
change every coming move.
Laura McDermott Matheric's first book of poetry, Visions on Alligator Alley was published by Lominy Books in 2015. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Dewdrop and Closed Eye Open. A Professor of English, Laura regularly teaches writing workshops and literature courses at Broward College and throughout the community. She was appointed the first Poet Laureate of the City of Coconut Creek in 2022, the first of any municipality in Broward County, Florida, furthering her efforts to support growth in education, the arts, and the community. Currently, Laura is pursuing her Ph.D. in Higher Educational Leadership and Research Methodology from Florida Atlantic University.
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