when her family arrived
i stayed in my bedroom
listening to prince and madonna
cassette tapes
because i’d spied her from my window
blonde and tan
more beautiful than i remembered
i’d become a fat and lonely monster
since we’d last seen each other
and i didn’t want to disappoint her
so i thought that i’d just stay in the bedroom
the whole time her family visited with mine
but it only took ten minutes
for my mother to knock on the door
then open it
without me saying to do so
and there she stood before me
so goddamned blonde and tan
california gold from head to toe
the smile fading from her face
as my mom grinned and shut the door to my dungeon
leaving the two of us alone
to sit on opposite sides of the bed
listening as the music played
hoping that it wouldn’t be long
before they all called us downstairs to dinner.