i'm so afraid of being alone
and cut into by loneliess
that i play with love like a toy
filling empty hours up with
any old sweet-smelling boy

& his hands on my hips
with my fingers against his lips
words that trickle down my spine
whispering youth & beauty
and new-love, darling
i want to make you mine

the word love got lost
somewhere between other words
or beneath the sheets where you
took piece by piece of this girl

you know we are defined by our lust
by your hands in my hair
by skin against skin
i don't love this but god i need it
the anecdote to loneliness called
me today, and i'm giving in.

(2001)