Shy

Her name is Boston and her eyes are pale.

...

I tried to spell it out but realized I no longer knew the language of the heart.

I tried to get to know the stranger inside of me but he only speaks on rare occasions, when the breeze cools the back porch. 

I forgot what clarity feels like.

Slack Lee

My breath blew past my face as I moved silent on the night. Drifting downhill through canyons of brick towards a distant neon glow. 

I can avoid the urge to drink most times but it’s strong tonight. I’ve kept my self in the dark for too long. I feel my inside on the out of me. 

I entered the place and a sign read, Hang your souls here. 

I was four when I woke up alone on my mother’s bed. My tiny body edged off the quilt her mother had made me. The wood floor felt cold at my feet as I searched the places where I was certain to find her: next to the kitchen sink where she peeled potatoes for the soup we would eat all winter, on the porch trunk where she sat tucked into a ball rocking her self when no one was looking, and the clothesline out back next to the orchard.

Panic set in when I realized the promise mom had made me was a lie. I was alone. 

At the back of the bar was a woman. Her chopped bangs and pale face drew me in just as the neon had done. I pushed my way towards her.

"Can I hop on?" She Asked.
"I don’t know if you’re tall enough to ride." 
"Don’t worry your blue little eyes 'cause I got these heels." 

My eyes dreamt of following her long legs down into her black stilettos. She would have perfect feet. 

By the time I found my self I was north on Clark Street at a late night place called, The Pick Me Up Cafè, a place where people hunker down when their hangover hits.

Two waitresses moved food around. The tired and gone stared at things. One man rested his head next his waffle and his buddy worked a fork around it.

The waitress approached me. Her wrinkled face wanted my order but as her mouth stood there all

I could  hear was a younger woman’s voice.

"Can I hop on."

A pancake showed up with syrup.

"I don't need Syrup, I said."