Cartoon Romance, Age 18

People under, say, eighteen, shouldn’t believe
that their love is ever-lasting,
inevitably pulling them from their mother’s arms, bruised faces

shattered after bruised faces, whole

body systems collapsing, all of it
acted out in pattern. At eighteen we are just beginning

the outlines to our futures,

that if a man creates a friend out of air
only he can talk to it.
Other people who attempt

will be speaking into cold wind. Eighteen-year olds
should stick to soccer games, marching bands,
grades going up and down—earthbound, tangible

events, moments

where they can become winners. You can score
goals in a soccer game, some people

have tutors, the hardships will come
with handbooks, if you fail

you will be forgiven. A child

exhales her breath onto the neck of a stranger,
& soaks his shirts with tears. She knows

the exact spot it will end, at which point
the blood will escape, who will forget sobriety
& who will be drowned under by shame. She will learn

that if she runs into a cave
she will not leave

until she notices her mistake.


Imitation of: Cartoon Physics, Part 1