Shane Allison

Cute

You in pitch black Chuck Taylor's,                             
khaki's cuffed at your ankles,
see you gazing at girls.

Stare at your lips smeared with Chap Stick
make me fetch your shoes,
wash blood & snot off the collar of your shirt.

I think I see myself in your autumn eyes
fixing my hair.
Check for roast chicken between my teeth.

You have the arms that have held a million girls.

Hands rip off purple panties that slither
beneath bands of a million bras.

I want to be your cold-blooded girlfriend
beneath electric blankets
who leaves you defenseless, naked,
in a doublewide bed at Motel 6.

I'm just a queer.
A love poet prankster,
a bundle of sticks at your

pitch black sneakers.

He's Lost His Mind in Fayetteville, North Carolina

And the bus driver refuses to stop to help him look for it
He's sure he had it while waiting in the lobby of the Travel Center
Now he's frantic, searching like a private detective
Beneath seats, above the leopard-print compartments,
Under backpacks, purses & carry on cases.
But there's no sign of his mind.

Look and see if you sittin' on it, says his Mama.
I hope he finds it fast cuz
He's leaking common sense all over me.
This never would have happened
If he hadn't have been fighting with his sister

Over headphones, a CD player.
What's the problem, what's wrong with you?
James, the bus driver yells.
That guy done lost his ever-loving mind
And been looking everywhere for it.

Here it is, the lady in the back yells.
It was rolling around in the aisle
Like an empty soda can,
Like the half full baby bottle,
The kid in seat 34 been screaming for since
Savannah Georgia.

Angel in My Apartment Building
For Noel

There's an angel in my apartment building.
We live on the same floor.
I'm in room three, he’s in room one
Cuz one stands for angel.
He has wings, but like an itchy sweater,
He hates to wear them.
Says they get in the way of things,
Often gets slammed in doors.
"Does that hurt?" I ask.
"No, there's no pain at all.
Other than losing a few feathers
And experiencing sort of a ticklish feeling," he says.
His heart is his halo.
I'm the only one who knows his secret.
When I'm around him, I feel clean.
I can walk through the open flames
Of the world unscathed.
When he comes in worn, tired
And torn a little,
I just want to carry him to the glory
Of his bedroom and bathe him
With a washcloth of light.