tattoos

[torpe]

once we drove down

the same road

always the same different road

and he asked if i had a knife

in my back pocket

i carried knives when i didn’t feel safe

increasingly i did not

it could protect me from every man

that was out to get me

i was the king of the universe

with its serenaded edges

carefully tucked away

placed in my back pocket

we’d known each other for so very long

he was my best friend

i said yes