les berceuses ivres (collab)

hesitation comes with intoxication,
dangerous fingers and knobby knees
tucked close, a hibernation under
triggers and tangents,
canceled subscriptions
and a failure to commit

liquor talks with a lisp
and stutters at the thought
of your bare body
beneath the bar lights,
a trail of wineglass
shards and a swimming
pool of chardonnay

sip and synapse,
betrayal is never just fine,
so tell me a story, honey
wrap me up in
your paper thin skin
of beauty and perfection

sprinkle your half-slurred
words into my open ears
until your chest feels
as empty as this bottle

teach me how you measure love
against loneliness; show me
the differences between
your fingers and the tones
that grace your lips;
gift me the clouds
of your lungs as you exhale
your boozebreath
into my forlorn mouth

i catch it
and cause a civil war
between our clothes
and these bedsheets

(and the hangover
wins again)