not yours truly

she signed her love letters

"not yours truly,"

sealing them shut with

nicotine patches

because love is not an option

when you are sixteen

doing body shots off random strangers

practicing to be the next pin-up whore

"if i grow up,"

she says, downing beers

in the laps of starry-eyed virgins

fluttering like butterflies

into Eros' drunken arms

love metal blaring

the boy that broke her promises

giving them to someone else

and she knows she'll be the only one

at the bottom

waiting to catch her fall

but her 5-week paid vacation

is set to start at midnight

and the clock on the tv guide channel says it's now 11:59-

-fin.