Peeling oranges

Disguising bad habits

Then I'd toss the sweet flesh

Sacrificed to blanket tar on fingertips

Breaking my neck to drink straight from the faucet

I got my shirt soaking wet

And I'm hot in the face in public

You wouldn't come to my defence

Look at your hands stained dark

Say it's juice from the berries

But my belly's been the colour of a late summer cherry between teeth

Put me to bed with a story from behind your eyelids

I thought you were psychic

But I could be convinced that this t-shirt's clairvoyant

Fresh and permanent bleeding in the cab of the truck

Led to a total disaster

The kind of mess you throw out and try not to think about

We wouldn't talk about any of it now

Look at your hands stained dark

Say it's juice from the berries

But my belly's been the colour of a late summer cherry between teeth

Smile for me and show me how you've been eating

Had a dream you looked the same but your heartbeat was different

And a grifter knows a grifter in an instant