Two Poems by James Sanchez

I guess the dream went a little off course
Alone in your panties lying on the floor pretending to be alive
The tears soothing your sense of guilt
Shower water like pebbles falling on glass
The breathing of the air conditioner drowning out his foolish humming
Happiness joy
The conquest
Why do you lay on the ground praying for a change of mind?
His heart alone in your thoughts
He washes his penis with hard hands
He cleanses what has sullied you
Loneliness all for loneliness
It should have felt better
You should be perfect
The water races towards the drain as your dreams collect near the bottom

It is the sun that scares me

It is so consistent

I can’t be that way

I waver my resolve grows weaker

I want to smell your love like children smell their father’s shirts

Shirts littered with the memories of 9 to 5’s on factory lines

Memories of loose women loving inadequacy away

I wish I could be consistent like the pain of your memory

It holds me hostage at thought point

I shiver in covers soaked in the sweat of lustful romps through visceral bliss

I am the doubt of all who love

Question the primacy of these feelings

The battle waged at night while children dream of trips to beaches lined with crystal sand

They dream of baseball games where pitchers hurl spheres of pure truth

The catchers brace themselves knowing that the fate of the world rests on one strike

I am alone tonight with my thoughts

My arms are too short to reach for the gun

I am scared that love is a ruse

A trick played by god in order to keep me alive and wondering

It is the sun that scares me at night when the world whispers its gentle lullaby

James Sanchez holds a B.A. in English from Florida International University. He teacher English and Creative writing at Ronald W. Reagan/Doral Senior High school. He resides in Miami, Fl. His work has been published in The Acentos Review, Apeiron Review and Poui: The Cave Hill Literary Annual.