curfew 

we loved the eat the dark
with our hands. the gas station glowed
like a chapel in our mouths. our shadows
painted on the gum-stuck parking lot
in the middle of the night. 
we watched scary movies. opened 
all the doors in your house. you parents
weren't home. how were your parents
never home? they fly into the clouds
& became thunder. we lied as much
as we could. the sofa. the skin.
confessions shared on our bellies. 
i was always the nervous one. i looked
for cops in the trees. i worried about
my mom finding out. i just wanted
to kick holes in every hour that met me.
we had short hair. it was summer.
somehow the shortness of the night
makes it richer. like a lake plunge.
i remember once we saw a cop car & hid
in an alley. it smelled like cigarettes &
trash bags. we held our breath as if 
the car were going to turn side ways
& ride the walls of the place. you all laughed
while i imagined the police man's hands
reaching to capture us from the night.
we got back to your house. i laid
on the couch & fell asleep before the movie
was over. before i could brush my teeth.
sugar rung my gums all night. the dark, with us, 
another girl body we had escaped with.