BOYFRIEND MOUNTAIN
I want love to be an institution
like Michael Douglas movies
in the 1980s
I know the shark
was fake, was animatronic, but still
I wanted something to bring back home
that would add to my development
as a young woman
Citrus cotton tops
Sensible khakis on my legs
In the caribbean
I got my hair braided
with orange pony beads at the ends
The photograph embarrasses me now
You have a relationship
with the things you are wary of
& it is your favorite relationship
You can’t stop talking about it
You put the things you are wary of
on a broadsheet & sleep
beneath them, & they are holy
I want life to be this simple
My skin changes textures
based on my income
I eat the cereals of my childhood
because I can’t envision
a good way out