Here, on the fresh white cotton sheets
of another New Jersey hotel room,
still a girl with soft pink hands, a bright smooth face,
the wet salt air and the long gaudy nights of Atlantic City,
the sharp gold buildings, the lengthy beach,
brown eyes behind a thick glass window,
the white sand, the lip of a continent,
stuck between toes,
and the ravening clouds,
the darkness of an afternoon,
the gray sea,
the white hotel room,
and then the clear black night,
clouds sunken into sea,
neon signs across the boardwalk,
those sharp gold casino resorts,
the wind atop the lighthouse,
the sea from there,
stars reflected in it,
words on a darkening page,
it was also gray.
of another New Jersey hotel room,
still a girl with soft pink hands, a bright smooth face,
the wet salt air and the long gaudy nights of Atlantic City,
the sharp gold buildings, the lengthy beach,
brown eyes behind a thick glass window,
the white sand, the lip of a continent,
stuck between toes,
and the ravening clouds,
the darkness of an afternoon,
the gray sea,
the white hotel room,
and then the clear black night,
clouds sunken into sea,
neon signs across the boardwalk,
those sharp gold casino resorts,
the wind atop the lighthouse,
the sea from there,
stars reflected in it,
words on a darkening page,
it was also gray.