for pollen season

to honor the succulent savior, sassafrass-singing, anti-senescence, sin-inducing, serpentine Springtime...

from Fall '06

A funny thing’s been happening lately.
When you walked away that time in the park I buried my face in the grass to hide my smile (I never want anyone to know
the way you make me smile)
And my lips,
I thought the way they burned would go away in time,
I thought it was the grass. I thought it was the grass that tickled them.

But I haven’t got them to stop.
They tingle and make me smile when I don’t know it,
When I don’t mean to, but maybe I do

See, since your lips touched mine, they’ve been itching.
The only relief I get is when I press them together, tight (tight-tight)
So that no air or breath or words can pass through them,
and hold them that way, for as long as I can,
or as long as I want to.

When I was 7 my best friend was a little allergic to chocolate
But every recess we split a Hershey bar.
We met under the red slide with yellow railing, every day
And with our little dirt-caked fingers, broke the bar into pieces
And sucked the chocolate in our mouths.

We always laughed and held each other’s hands when his face started to swell up,
Sometimes I would finish his chocolate for him.
The chocolate was worth a little blushing.
The sweetness made the swelling a game.

And now, when I walk and feel the prickling
I think of how good the chocolate tasted,
I remember the red slide with the yellow railing and the blushing and holding hands,
And I know that this swelling is sweet.
Because the truth of the matter is, I think I’m a little allergic to you.