Finally, I
can acknowledge
hope keeps me returning there,
even when I know it is
nothing, that there’s no
residual sweetness
between us, that
nothing remains. He doesn’t
do anything but leave
me behind like a
bad habit. He strips the sheets like the scent of me is a stain,
as if cleansing means there was no
desire, no ache disguised as sweetness.
Nothing that’s
remaining was ever
quite sufficiently
enough to be sweet.
____________________________________________________
Golden Shovel poem using the line “I acknowledge there is no sweetness that doesn’t leave a stain, no sweetness that’s ever sufficiently sweet,” from Stephen Dunn’s Sweetness.
About the Creator
Tina D. Lopez
I have a lot of silly things (some dark things) inside my head, so I write them down. Sometimes they turn into poems.
My book Love Ain’t No Friend of Mine is available on Amazon. https://a.co/d/6JYBmLH
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More stories from Tina D. Lopez and writers in Poets and other communities.
December 8, 1980
When I was six or seven, my stepdad came into my life, and I remember thinking he knew everything. He could befriend anybody, anywhere. In grocery stores, he chatted with strangers over cuts of meat; at gas stations, he bonded with people pumping fuel over how the smell of gasoline was disgusting and yet enjoyable. In restaurants, he took an interest in waiters’ lives—like Steve, whose father was dying of cancer. When Steve’s dad died, my new dad attended the funeral.
By Tina D. LopezExclusive • 18 days ago
Feelings Never Die
It is Valentine's Day again, and it bought back memories that were over fifty years old. It bought me back to 1971, and I woke up and I knew my baby was due today. I was big and pregnant, and I felt like I was about to burst wide open. Imagine my surprise when the doctor told my I had a due date of February 14. I couldn't believe it, and since my baby was due today, I felt I could indulge myself a bit. I had gained a lot of weight, and chocolate was on the no-no list, but I had came to the end of this pregnancy, and I hoped it would be okay, after all I would deliver this baby today. So I walked across the street to the grocery story, and bought myself, a peppermint patty, covered in chocolate, my favorite. Me and my Valentine's baby would enjoy it together.
By Susan Payton3 days ago in Fiction
Comments (1)
Cool! I had to look up Golden Shovel. Nice job, and I liked the lines (heartbreaking): He strips the sheets like the scent of me is a stain, as if cleansing means there was no desire, no ache disguised as sweetness