New Poetry Project: "Things to do in Denver when you'd rather be dead"

check into a cheap room near the airport
on a dusty freeway frontage road

gorge on delivered pizza, throw it up
sit cross-legged and meditate
in the middle of a king size bed

wait for his call

itemize the cost of this trip you couldn't afford
consider leaving early

acknowledge that flying 1,404 miles
to meet a stranger who has charmed you
on a sex app is unquestionably stupid

wait for his call

the leavening of despair to anger, search for solace
in the arms of another on the sex app

irrationally feel guilty, resist the urge to watch porn
watch two hours of Kardashians, return to despair
eat the leftover pizza crust

wait for his call

stare out the window into dark Colorado night
the lights of Denver pale against the sky

consider drowning in the indoor pool
pockets weighted with cell phone
books no one bought, incomplete poems

the next morning, when he knocks on the door
excuse at the ready, be already gone

don't wait for my call


This poem is the third of eight new works that will appear at Modern Confessional and across social media until the end of the year. To read the first poem, "The Masquerade," visit this link. Read "Acid Flashback #2 at this link. Find out more about the New Poetry Project at this link. ©Collin Kelley, 2016