Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

Red Dresses

This morning I had too many blueberries in my cereal
and now I am regretting them.
They feel like tiny spores embedded in my stomach lining
exploding at will.
Every few minutes,
KA-BOOM!
and I am sent
running.
I’ve been running for years.
Down hallways as a little girl
and later from bed to bed.
From Houston to Los Angeles,
and then from Los Angeles
to Nashville.
Each time staying too long.
Each time saying never again.
Nashville was a bigger mistake than L.A.
I got too restful here.
Lost track of time.
Forgot who I was.
In L.A. I was part of a crowd.
Writers.
Some writing crap, albeit,
but still writers.
I had the cache of U.S.C. behind me
and I could wear mini-skirts and not be looked at strangely.
Now I am in no man’s land,
a world where guns and cigarettes are touted as good things
and the average I.Q. seems to be double digits at best.
I miss my red dresses.