Close to perfect
Sometimes the universe
gives you a married man
who kisses every inch of your body.
When we lay side by side
I think about how I tried
to stop loving you.
I didn’t know a heart could contain
love for more than one person.
Oh, how I tried to stop
loving you. When we lay
side by side I think about
how easy it is to fall in love.
I’ve given my heart over
to a ghost whose love
I’ll never have . I tried to stop
loving you. I smile and count
backwards from infinity—
your hand electric in mine.
Featured Photo by Robert V. Ruggiero from Unsplash
Matt Farley is a queer identifying poet, urban Appalachian activist and literary event promoter born, raised, and rooted in the Greater Cincinnati area. His work is informed by risk, the liminal, fatherhood, male intimacy and the mycological. He has been published on poetry.org, in the Anthology For a Better World 2021: Poems and Drawings on Peace and Justice, and other places. He is the2024 recipient of the Academy of American Poets Betty J. Abrams Prize. Find him on Instagram @mattfarleywrites.
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