ILY

by Olivia Bahn

we’re loving each other in the backseat;
you know, honey, we shouldn’t oversleep,
unfurl your heart-beating hands into mine—
i wish this wasn’t only sometimes
now it’s half-past noon
and you’ve got to be home by two—
but i’m still stuck between linen & smile lines
and figuring out the right goodbyes
baby, i think brunette really suits me,
why do i always have to watch you leave?
come back, turn that car around—
there are three words i still need to say out loud

a poet and fiction writer from neenah, wi;
a creative writing major at lawrence university