Forever 22

gorgeous lovers
living in houses with sheer black curtains
counting streets
scowling at sumptuous bank accounts
while imagining jumping through
glass doors to other worlds
their sadness is a comedy
of never being on the outside

there the sound of yelling means
someone's being passionate
as they have loving, living rooms
indoors

outdoors they are flagging down
and naming stars
writing their names in ash
by cast iron fire pits

she'll write letters to Orion
about things like spider bites and yellow webs
and how some build beautiful empires 
from dirty fabulous lies
famous lusty lies
poetry with metaphors 
doesn't allow for the word defeat

she tells him "we are young
and too precious to ever look tired or
sleepy"

"we should stay 22 forever"
as they dip beneath the waters of
the New River
their jeans have too many memories
and should never be washed again