The Lazy Matador

This is not the birds twittering
But the tape bending around
The heads from a warble to a hiss
How many times have you listened to this song today?
«two baby aspirin, two sips of gin
And the time it takes
To rewind 'Something On Your Mind'
On the reel to reel to reel
And I’ll be there.»
…to find you splayed out, unlaced again
Oh, my lazy matador, without a stitch
But for a part in your hair
You smell of smoke and spearmint
Like changing rooms
Unbridled afternoons
And horseplay and towel-whips
And bathing suits rolled down off sunless hips
The dizzy, patterned floor under bare feet
I’m barely-there but heavy
Heavy, shallow hiccuped breaths
The Pianese are budded out and bound to bloom
The lazy plumes of smoke
The twittering of the birds
The smell of spearmint and
Your convincing but unconvincing argument
«Tell him that it’s only a pinprick
Tell him that it barely broke the skin
Tell him that you’re home but still tender
In the retelling, let it be rendered
Just a pinprick, just a puncture, just a scratch.»