Dedicated to Billie Holiday
Jolene browsed the sushi menu and saw that they had a rainbow roll
She couldn't help but think of green eyes
And she couldn't help but get lost in those green pools with swirling orange leaves at their centers that were staring at her in the dim yellow blanket light
She felt safe, she felt secret, she felt
s a c r e d
When they were skin to skin and under the covers, and they kissed each other like this miraculous thing called love had just been discovered
"Are you all ready to order?"
She turned her head to the waiter
"Yeah, I'll have the rainbow roll," she answered
When Jolene and her family had finished their meal, they decided to get dessert
They went to a bakery where her mother stood behind her, and asked
"What are you gonna get?"
She jumped at the feeling of her mother's breath tickling the back of her neck
In that instant, she thought of his full lips and the way he use to kiss that spot over and over, making her wriggle and laugh
And how he would kiss her from her stomach to her lips, where she felt small flowers begin to bloom
She thought of her fingers caressing his long dark sea of hair while he fell asleep in her arms
That night when she went home, and lay in her bed being lit by luminous blue birds, she remembered how he would get up to put another record on, facing his smooth back to her
She loved his bronze skin
When he would hold her it felt warm and soft, as if she were being held by the sun itself
Right now, she was being enveloped by the dark and her artificial glowing stars
She didn't mind this since it made her feel at home
But she wondered if there were different kinds of "home"
Because she felt at home when she ate sweet pastries and coffee in the morning
She felt at home when she's joking around with her friends
She felt at home when she's lying down outside with her dog to enjoy the feeling of the cold stone floor against her skin
And she felt at home when she was with him
So maybe home was when you felt safe and loved
Or maybe home was when you let someone have a peek inside, and trusting them when they say
"I promise to love you, all the way."
