faint as sledge hammers -steve calamars

my good looks bring

cold stares from

hot tempered women

with frozen hearts

and smoking bodies

their mind games feel

less like brain teasers

and more like blood sports

with the bruised egos and

broken hearts

so out of necessity

i keep my guard up

and my pain threshold

even higher

till these women are

reduced to practically

pole-vaulting over my

defenses to hurt me

with their love

and i'm able to counter

with ghost-written words

that create phantom pains

faint as sledge hammers

that simultaneously

shatters their confidence

and splits

their personality . . .

(featured in

beggars and cheeseburgers

issue #3)