my hair bleeds purple when i sleep

dark, violet, translucent in the way that sausage fat boiling on the pan is

before it touches a towel

in the way that a ghost’s imprint is before fingerprints are left on the kitchen counter

if I am to believe in anything,

i believe in the stars.

i believe in the glint the moon gives though a car door window.

i believe in the scattered freckles of lanterns in the sky,

eternally held in place until you

I loved you

And you loved me

Many nights we stayed awake together

Holding you close

Every time singing

Rhymes of geese and shoes

Every night

I wake up

Brush my teeth

Then look into the mirror.

I see a kid

Who looks confused

About his true self.

I don’t know who.

But it isn’t me.