She wasn’t someone we knew
All pancake make up and blue eyeliner
Drag queen stylin with dyke attitude
And she stood over us,
Looming oversized with man hands
Sliding beside me, one arm around me
Owning me before she knew me
Taking before I gave permission, as though
Permission were superfluous
And it was

To me a shy hello
To my girlfriend – all cocky brash
‘your name wasn’t on her’
To the ring I wore –
All gold and diamonds
A short nod and it disappeared
As though it was only that,
A ring
And not the promise before god and so much more
As though it wasn’t to his house we disappeared
When her truck rolled, stopping in front of rain soaked
Lawns,
And his couch on which she held me
Watching trees tapdance on window sills

She wasn’t someone we knew
All strange angles,
Angry glares
The confines of our world too soft to bind her,
Lesbian clichés, all wrapped in tommy Hilfiger,
The looks and smells
Dolphin teal and burnt orange colors . . . she sparkled for me
Silent still
Wasn’t someone we knew, tears in eyes of ice
And holding me I felt her break
She held me, thought it was forever

And somewhere she found she needed my permission
But I was already
So far
Insanely past the point
Of gone