Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass — Chapter no 11

happy

you thought i was rich and i am but not how you think i live in a Tudor house under the freeway in Mar Vista by the beach when you call i take my phone outside to the picnic table

that i bought from the Rose Bowl and i listen to the rushing cars above and think about the last time you visited me the last time we made love how the noise got louder and louder during rush hour

until it sounded like the sea and it felt like the ocean was the sky and that i was flying because you were two feet taller than me

until you took me in your arms

and i could touch the stars

and they all fell down around my head

and i became an angel and you put me to bed

happy

People think that i’m rich and i am but not how they think i have a truck with a gold key chain in the ignition and on the back it says: happy joyous and free

happy and when i drive i think about the last time my friends were driving with me how the radio was so loud that we couldn’t hear the words

so we became the music happy

They write that i’m rich and i am but not how they think

i have a safe i call the boyfriend box and in it every saved receipt

every movie theater ticket just to remind me of all the things i’ve loved and lost and loved again unconditionally

You joke that i’m rich and i am but not how you think i live in a Tudor house under the freeway off of Rose Avenue 12 blocks from the beach

and when you call i put your sweater on

and put you on speaker and chat for hours underneath the trees and think about the last time you were here lying next to me how the noise from the cars got louder and louder during rush hour until it sounded like a river or a stream

and it felt like we were swimming

but it wasn’t just a dream we were just

happy