To the Artist's Page                  To our home page

To B. M. Bradley's previous piece     To B. M. Bradley's next piece

Sex

no one talks 
about sleeping with people 
that you can't seem to wash off 
with hot showers
and there's not enough 
mouthwash 
to clean the taste of them from your head
after having done it because 
it was expected of you 
by polite society

or else drunk and crazy with pain
not remembering,
but waking with a stranger 
someone you
wouldn't even give spare change to
or a fucking cigarette 

now trying to forget
sitting in the Free Clinic
waiting for your test results 
the ghost hangs out, wrapping cold arms around 
your stomach and heart
with a fist stuffed in your throat
making it hard to swallow
holding your feet 
as you're 
told you've got to see the counselor
for your results

no one talks about that
so I won't either

To the top of this page