The Boxer

touches up

pats his gloves

against his opponent

pads back to

his own corner

to kiss his trainer

the second

wishing him well

expressing love

& later

after his victory

i turn off the box

go about my night

that kiss coming back to bite

my own first kiss holding heat

some kind of love

came as a 12 yr old boy

the girl down the street

never having once in this life

a kiss from any of my family

not once

from any branch

of that rotten dead tree