To My Boyfriends
I am sorry.
I did not know I could not love you
When I told you that I would.
I did not mean to keep you
Calling for hours on a phone that would not connect,
Searching for kisses that were not there,
Holding a hand that could never warm
To your touch.
I wish I could have told you
I am able to love men,
But only in my heart.
Love Song
I miss you.
I don’t miss your scent,
Or the way you talk,
Or the way you sway in particular.
No certain body parts,
Or the way your eyes look different in different lights.
I simply miss you,
Some indistinct trait that separates
Your skin from skin,
Your air from air.
That makes your presence alone
Stand thick as a crowd.
Jessica McKenna rents a small studio apartment in Yonkers, New York with her cat. She earned her MFA from Manhattanville College earlier this year, where she served as co-editor for one literary journal solely in print and one solely online. She tends toward the online these days, but you will be able to read more of her work next year in Sinister Wisdom.
