My friend who used to be my lover
has had his skull rearranged
by a truck and survived,
though he’s changed.
He’s no longer a cynic,
no longer likes coffee,
instead he likes beer
and some girl named Brittany.
One day he calls to share a revelation:
love doesn’t need to be requited
for him to know happiness,
just the fact that someone exists
who induces such a feeling
is bliss. At first I think
he’s really lost it, but then
I realize he’s right, he’s so right!
All this weeping
and gnashing and leaping
off bridges is so silly.
He doesn’t know
I’ve been crying over him
for months, now suddenly I’m done.
A few days later an envelope arrives
addressed to me from him
in his new loopy handwriting.
The letter begins
Dear Brittany, there is so much
I want to say to you...

—From The Bones We Have in Common (Slipstream Press, 2012); also appeared previously in Nerve Cowboy (Issue 26, Fall 2008), and republished here by author’s permission

Sudasi J. Clement

lives in northern New Mexico and is the poetry editor for the Santa Fe Literary Review. Her poems have appeared in many journals including the Sierra Nevada Review, The Mas Tequila Review, Nerve Cowboy, Best Poem, and Appalachee Review. She and her partner own Beadweaver of Santa Fe, specializing in beads from around the world, hand-crafted jewelry, and other one-of-a-kind treasures.

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⚡ Three Poems (“Speechless,” “Something’s Got to Kill Me,” and “Transports of Love”) from The Bones We Have in Common