New Tattoo

New Tattoo
“I like your new tattoo”
that’s all I could say to you
And I let my old backpack
slip
Off of my shoulder
I handed you a gift
Vanilla flavored French cigarettes
You smiled and bent down to light one up
Off of the burner
And I touched your arm where the ink was buried deep
Your newest beauty mark
made in my absent weeks
And I was sorry for missing even one
Toss in your sleep
But it was time to go
Back to that lonesome road
“Any part time loves?”
you asked flatly
Between puffs
And I had to let out the smallest laugh
At your candor
“well how could there be?”
I asked and you just Shrugged at me
“There’s only one of you and weren’t we made To be together?”
What a shame she would say
If she had known how it would be
That it would turn out this way
The younger version of me
How I could just neglect and give up
The most glorious thing
It never crossed my mind
That we would fade with time