Zed
for Darin
in foggy darkness everyone disappeared
empty footprints left in clotted mud
and deep in plush carpet
fingerprints left on paper coffee cups
on countertops in local cafes
echoes still bouncing back and forth
across the Grand Canyon
in a blink i was alone
at the outskirts of my border town
where the train tracks crossed
and tagged boxcars now stood
resigned to early rust
after a few days the power went out
window after window
one streetlamp then another
the darkness followed me as i wandered
as though i were flipping all the switches
as i passed
i found you in the back
of an old tattoo parlor shrouded in dust
you sat on the floor
as ink began to crust with blood
over the small symbol you’d just finished
tattooing on the inside of your wrist
zero
Zed,
i thought at you
and you stopped and looked around,
brow furrowed
i watched you find a shower at the back of the shop
it must have been the only running water in the city
i watched while you stripped naked
for a second i felt you would strip yourself to bone
the way you clawed
off your clothes
as though they burned you
but you baptized yourself, head bowed
beneath
the spray pouring over you
warm rivulets streamed down your thighs
red and black ran down to your fingertips
from the lone z e r o on your wrist
i found a stack of musty towels
in a nearby closet
and when you finally turned the spigot and raised your head
you looked directly at me
i padded over to you, shoes discarded,
offered a towel
a thin golden strand threaded between our eyes
as we watched each other, s i l e n t
you sized me up
then let me pat you down
pat pat pat
with the towel
my fingers lingering in your hair,
damp and soft as puppy down,
pausing at your lips
to feel the warm breath
on my skin
your breath tingled my hands
how long since i felt goosebumps
since the light hair on my arms stood alert
and at attention
how long since one simple touch
i closed my eyes
you interlocked your fingers
with mine
and since that day
we’ve walked from town to town
watched the earth slowly reclaim its body
no need to hurry
two zeros became one
once, we passed a cinema
where movies somehow still
s t r e a m e d s i l e n t l y
down from the silver screen
onto empty seats,
waves and particles of light
giving a half-life to films half-remembered
today we drift through a city
that’s forgotten its name
the sky above blushes in embarrassment,
sun ready to slink below the horizon
and hide
as we see the forgotten metropolis
its buildings left
negligently in the care
of sun and sky
reduced to brittling skeletons
by the wind’s sharp bite
window after window
one streetlamp then another,
the light follows us as we wander
as though we’re flipping all the switches
as we pass
