Poetry written by Jenni (dotted with a circle), the 14-year-old girl who rents space in my frontal lobe and who would really like to have a boyfriend. (Could her parents possible come and fetch her every now and then, so I can have friends over?)

[Written for somebody who didn't appreciate it; so
I threw it away; then I pulled it out of the trash and
put it up here instead; ha-ha on him].

Out of reach
lemon lips
a dog rounds a corner
and you sit
across the street
chewing on alien thoughts

Daylight breaks
and day to take a look at
the blurred knick-knack shelf
of things past.

"The coin most likely lands on one side",
say the old men,
but which side they won't say.

I see you
from across the street
undisturbed by a passing truck
laden with flowers.

Out of reach
another time
another place
and who's to say if
those other things
don't belong on the shelf
as well.

------------------------------

A smile that takes
and won't give back
it's yours to keep
and mine to lack.

An empty plate
a concrete face
the things we want
are in unknown space.

A tear that won't come
a word that doesn't write itself
the sun forgets to rise

A life wasted on the thought that
maybe it's best left alone.