Clumsily carved,
on the desk with the chipped corner.
The residue of star-crossed lust?
Or the remnants of something eternal?
Two hearts swept up in raucous adventure,
or building walls of spite.
Who are these letters?
JL + KR
Some mad obsession, maybe?
Does JL run back and forth,
through KR's head?
Perhaps KR dreams the same dream,
every night, and thinks
the same thoughts,
a thousand times over,
pretending her pillow was him.
And JL never knew,
he was idealized in her head,
and immortalized on her desk.
Or, maybe JL buys KR flowers every Monday,
to make her week blossom brightly.
He kisses her hand
and brings her candy to make her smile.
Perhaps he wants to marry her,
But he calls her too much on weekends,
and KR won't mention it to him.
At work, she winks at the other boys,
and touches their arms when she laughs,
at their jokes.
They go out to the duck pond,
to throw popcorn into the water.
JL talks too much about cars, maybe,
or movies, or homework.
And KR always adjusts her hair,
and readjusts.
They annoy each other.
But I think JL loves KR,
or maybe the other way around.
And they're afraid to say it.
The thought weighs on their heads,
and fogs their minds,
until finally they could withhold it no longer.
The idea spilled from their minds,
out through their fingers, finally.
JL + KR
Written by Diane Pham