I can't sleep with you
now that I think about it
because it's me
or the gun
you sleep
with a loaded gun
under your pillow
how afraid
do you have to be
to do that
and what
are you afraid of?
sometimes
in the morning
when I rise
I find
that the front door
is not locked
especially
when my daughter
is home
and she goes running
at sunset
on the beach
I ask her
to wake me
when she gets home
and sometimes
I remember
sometimes I don't
I have
gotten up early
to look
out the window
to see if the car
is there
and so far
it always is there
so she is home
she is 24 now
and lives far away
over a thousand miles
I can't keep
her safe and can't
keep you either
and now I know
I can't sleep with you
because you are afraid
and I know a woman
with a starburst scar
where her boyfriend
shot her
in the chest
when she went to the bathroom
at night
and he thought
she was a burglar
I ask
if she is with him still
and she says
no
I say
good
it's an impressive scar
I don't want
you to shoot me
so we can't sleep together
ever
I am sorry
you are afraid
but
it's me
or the gun