Red vines are delicious

Red vines are delicious

those sickly sweet gummy sticks

that don't disappoint

you get what you see

calories and sugar, sure

but also the taste and flavor

a simple joy with a small guilty aftermath

lip-smacking good

my red tongue proof of the ingestion

***

what I get with you is dizzying

one moment is love and connection

words of affirmation and adoration

a supportive companionship

the next is confusion

passive-aggressive mouthfuls of

stoic silent shutdown

mind-numbing accusations

of an alternate reality

creating an unreachable void between us

***

I reach for another red vine

taking comfort in its safety

the unchanging repeatability of

consistently meeting expectations

every bite is the same

I relax into the predictability

the only spike is in my blood sugar

I could build a licorice candy house

and I bet it would hold steady

and it makes me wonder

why I keep choosing to build a life with you