on a curb in a walmart parking lot

sitting on a curb in a walmart parking lot

i remember

d n i g

a c n

friends and coworkers

nickel beer night

just a dollar and the whole group's sTuMbLiNg

i remember

" S H O T S ! "

salt

tequila

lime

and you were buying

i remember

but it's getting foggy

a kiss

a dance

piling into a car when the DD pulled up

i was the only one from my complex

it'd save her a stop

"sleep on my couch"

then

you kept coming back

no

i don't need anything

no

i don't want the bed

no

for the last time

NO

sitting

on a curb in a walmart parking lot

with an icee

from the gas station across the street

just down the road from your apartment



i was afraid you'd try to follow me

you didn't

so relieved

yet sad you didn't even care enough

i was afraid the clerk would ask questions

about the girl dressed for the club

with mascara tracks down her cheeks

he didn't

i was afraid the cops

in for a break

in the middle of their night shift

might not accept

that i was okay

and keep asking or stay with me

they didn't



so here i sit

waiting for the same DD to return

making her drive much further out of her way

than before

on a curb in a walmart parking lot

watching the weeds grow through the pavement

and

i remember