dangerous

someone once described me as dangerous
I asked him why
he blinked and said
"I don't know."

so we contemplated each other warily
across the dock

now he's condensed to tiny pieces of noise
strained through fibers and plastic cradles
wired through satellites
I no longer pose a threat

I let him touch me once
I leaned on his shoulder
and slung an arm around his waist
it made him stammer
and pull his neck back to look at me
hesitantly he put his hand on my hip

things never went farther than that
perhaps he thought our exchange was cat & mouse
and I didn't want much more

he had wide eyes
laughed quick
and smoked ridiculous clove cigarettes
that came in tin cases
he would let his glance dart
over his surroundings

he was a smart boy
who hung out with the kids
that were going nowhere fast

he liked me because I was different
but he didn't do anything about it
because he was afraid of me

a sleeping poet
in the summer of
my seventeenth year