your dorm room is empty again
but your sentiment lingers,
even when you've gone to bed.
in another boy's skin.
another choice to win the night
and kill the day before it begins.
wanton triggers,
setting off the bombs
that stay under the covers,
at least a little longer.
your fresh face looks downward,
a coward with complex disguises;
all of them at once reprising their
eager roles in everyone's lives.