coralinne was exotic and esoteric
long fingers and spicy smells
long skirts and iced eyes
she blew smoke rings down his throat
and took his wallet back to SoHo
mary sweet mary built arrangements of flowers
and castles of clouds
and three months before the wedding
she built a bed
for his best friend and herself to lie
samantha worked a bar
and his
said she had the sweetest lips of any girl he'd met
and knew what perfume reminded him of San Juan
So she would wear it
as she drank and drank
and drowned
liz had the softest voice in the choir
and he never heard it until it wrapped around his heart
in a coffee shop lisping Dante
there was no circle of hell
like the shattered glasses and bloody hands she whispered
every night
but she isn't any of them
and he lies in bed and tells her
a marathon list
record time
high score
as he lies there in those memories of all the women he doesn't have
she packs a bag and walks toward the finish line