Poem – Vertigo

Vertigo

Frisco in the light of day
Painted ghosts
Faces half-lit through windows
and necklaces,
You trailed after an invisible beauty
who only looked that way when you looked for me.
Your shadow freed the light.
A slow moving butterfly, wings trapped in honey
You need me to be Madeline (for a while)
(Here lies Judy)
But oh, the rapture
As your arms pulled me from the bay
Dried my naked body with your clean towels,
My wet clothes crumpled up impacted erased
Did you trace the line of my breasts as you laid me down?
Did you spread my legs and send me to the moon?
But oh baby, can I be Madeline for longer than a while?
I won’t forget about the necklace.
I won’t be sentimental.
I knew where we were headed,
Soaked in red.
I could stay lost.
You could keep finding me.
You could dress me up again
In green, in grey, in grey
Maybe I’ll remind you of her.
For a while.
Come with me,
straight up the spiral staircase
Higher, darker, steeper
You can’t.
You’re afraid.
But don’t forget that I–
Spinning back down
Just remember that I–
Just remember that I didn’t mean it.
I go up, I go down
I go up…