someone i know

By Adam Gibson ©

she blows smoke rings like Leonard Cohen
she always wants her photo taken but
never wants to take one
she has a suit with wide lapels that
she calls her "devastation suit"
she plays guitar left-handed and she
stabs herself until she bleeds with
uncooked spaghetti

she has run a half-marathon
broken her collarbone (twice)
can tie both a neck-tie and a bow-tie
and doesn't ever want to have children
she calls them "ferrets"

she likes to suggest she's noisy at sex
but doesn't say it directly
she flinches whenever she hears
the flint of a cigarette lighter
she doesn't know how to work
dvd players
she draws pictures of footprints
and she collects shells and small pieces of glass

she has candles in her bathroom she has never lit
she gets nauseous at the thought of eggs
she can't drive a car and doesn't want to learn
she believes in nightdresses (not pyjamas)
she talks in her sleep about political matters and falling
and she doesn't own a cat because she says they are
"too needy"
but she stops to pat every one she sees