You were so beautiful,
such a beautiful boy (eyes of sky) with a smile that could break my heart, snap it in two like a twig or a promise--

not a threat. There was an oak on Harper Street and we named it after us,
carving deep to make sure our legacy would last.
The roots were damp and early, sort of like your eyes in the morning after making love.
(or that's what I heard in the girl's room, when i was quiet in my stall and they didn't know I was there)
Truly now I can imagine those branches burning,
along with those love letters you wrote, still saturated in strange perfume &
word by untruthful word crumbling to ashes.

Going to school is painful because of those
scattered leaves along the street and the bark waiting
so patiently for me to scratch out our names & write heartbreak instead.