i'm getting older

   

i can tell
because

when i go to bed

i don't think about
men with knives
coming into my room
to kill me

now what i imagine
when i'm trying

to fall asleep

are women

who climb into my bed
with me

women who run
sharpened fingernails
across my back
women who cut me
wide open

and kiss me

the moment before
i die

i imagine women
who say

i have done something
terrible to them

they tell me

they know what i think
when i see them
walking in front of

my house

they keep me up late
talking to me

in whispers

just loud enough

so that i can pick out
the important phrases
words like who do you
think you are

doing this to me

words like i know

who you are.