SICKENINGLY ADULT

The Betty Poems

I've decided
to think about you
only if
and when
you're in front of me;
to love you
only when
there's something
to love.
I wish to hurt
no one--
not a bug
not you
not me
--but sometimes
there's evidence
that has been gathered
not easily dismissed.

Yes, I admit
it takes
the guts
out
of passion,
but it allows me
to live
within these four
walls.
Give a man
that
and he
can do
anything.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2014