glow prophecies 

the pool hall was only open for a month.
we went there to kiss & make our eyes
into cue balls. blue chalk on my fingers
from rubbing the end of the stick.
in the corner, they had a pinball 
& mortal kombat machine. i liked to be the monsters
when we fought. it was the only time i really felt
like i could beat him. i smashed the buttons
as if each blow were crashing into his body
& not the little radiant avatar on the screen.
i used to wish for life in two dimensions.
in the game, there were so many less direction 
to hide. instead, i was paralyzed 
in the three dimensional world. all the pockets
on all sides of the pool table. so many places
to lose track of the truth. that is what
they do to you, shoot your eyes
into shadows & leave you chasing them.
the worst part is i would not describe him
as a terrible man. maybe careless or hunger 
is a better description. but then again
maybe i am too enamored with
the mortal kombat life. the thrust forward.
die backwards. i think of him in the dark of the pool hall.
glow of the neon wall signs casting pinks
& blues & greens across his face.
his smile was always off-kilter. 
in the game, i listened for the raspy voice
that would tell me "finish him." 
i took so much pleasure in that.
a pixel body severed or crushed. 
he always beat me at pool. cocky, sometimes
he would shoot behind him own back.
when the place closed 
we arrived to find the whole hall emptied.
black windows. it was as if
those nights had never happened.
he pulled by my belt
into the alley beside the hall. 
it smelled like flat soda & garbage. 
two dimensions, forward & back. 
he kissed me like a wad of gum. 
shadows cast around us. my eyes
somewhere else. in the pockets 
of a pool table who knows where.