The Direction I Am Staring At

The Direction I Am Staring At

 

Darkness had already fallen

When she stood up in her black sweats

A stray gray hair was wrapped around a finger, placed behind a red ear, and looking at herself in the mirror behind the couch

The expression on her relaxed ice cream-fed face fulfilled her

And then she noticed

My eyes locked on her in the glow of the TV screen

 

“What?”

 

You’re beautiful, and I love you, you idiot

 

“Nothing.”

 

My eyes did not move

 

Not even a blink when a pair of thick short arms guided soft velvet hands to my sandpaper face

I pooled in the spoon until it reached my mouth when she kissed me

With colorful sherbert lips

 

Mitchell Flanagan

Mitchell Flanagan is an artist, writer, and musician from Newburgh, New York. His poems appeared in The Chronogram in August 2010 and December 2011. His work appeared in Ariel Chart in April 2020 and April and December 2021. In addition, he's working on a collection of short stories, novels, and poetry books. His band is Cold Heaven.