coarse black hair
like downtrodden gravel
she is wearing a threadbare
designer leather jacket

it pronounces her shoulders
like sharp plosives as we 
discuss the merits of cities
versus towns

you are my city girl
my monolith standing
tall outside of
an emotive bunker

dialogue is never inane
which is why this has an
unwieldy spirit
like an atlas stone

i shiver when i think
she shivers but
the timid cold is not 
anathema to her

we sit arms crossed
ready to be exposed 

ARI ROBINSON is a contributor to Sagebrush XVII.

Cover Art: Ateljéinteriör, Sigrid Hjertén, 1916, Oil on canvas (via the Wikimedia Foundation).