first one

"In the Kitchen at Midnight"

A barefoot woman
in a borrowed t-shirt
and blue plaid boxers
does half of a tango:
sliding across a yellow
tiled kitchen floor
twisting until
she stops to discard
her empty Budweiser
dancing partner.

She slips onto the counter,
fumbles for a smoke,
and switches on the oven
to use the thin blue flame
for company
and a light.