Under the Surface

 

When dusk settles over these buildings,

I look for you to come out of hiding –

but you blend in far too well

I watch the cars; some break traffic laws –

I follow suit, on foot. I’m not drunk, just confused;

the wind howls at my misfortune

Some lives intersect; others interject.

We have done what we should – let’s do

what we want. Let’s bleed for a cause

When I first met you, my scars were lonely –

time has thrown us together, and I will not

walk away from change. Stand with me tonight,

and every night; nothing is understood

until it lives inside your bones

Cathy Porter’s poetry has appeared in Plainsongs, Homestead Review, California Quarterly, Hubbub, Cottonwood, Comstock Review, and various other journals. She has several chapbooks available from Finishing Line Press, Dancing Girl Press, and Maverick Duck Press. Bodies Of One Breath is forthcoming in 2024 from Dancing Girl Press. Cathy has been nominated for several Pushcart Prizes. She lives in Omaha, NE.