An Offbeat Annotation Poem by Kyle Shield Laster

All the bleach that ever was couldn't wash it:
My first time.
In a thirty dollar room full of sin and stains
We chose to entertwine.

Waves of pot and uncertainty drenched my heart
And washed my mind.
We tossed around in cigarette butts
And on tart lust we dined.

Blood seeped through the fabric
Of the lumpy bed we rocked.
My lover smelled of sweat and gin.
Regret I stored in stock,

But I'd dreamt that it would be that way:
Fast and rough and hurried.
I only wish that I'd had a mind to run
As fast as my first scurried:

Left me numb and stupefied
With an offbeat annotation
Of drugs and hugs and last of love.
I needed more than a condom's protection.