please don’t take my sunshine away

i can picture you pacing the paint swatch aisle

packing your pockets

with colours that remind you of the

girl i used to be

bright girl, i was called

what would you call me now?

i could bare my yellow teeth at the world

but there's no longer sunshine in my smile

no, my teeth are yellow like

piano keys that stick

yellow like the pollen on our windows,

in our lungs

when i smile

cigarette smoke escapes between my teeth

you choke on the wordless air between us

but i keep smiling

what if i stopped?

what if i let my cracking lips close around my teeth?

what then?

i suppose i might never smile again

tell me, would you sigh with relief?

step back and breathe

the air would no longer taste like me

i like to think it'd be sweet

i hope it doesn't make you think of me

like the colour yellow makes me think of you

and the sunshine girl i buried two summers ago

the daughter you still grieve

every time you get a glimpse of my yellow teeth