Miscue

You say one thing
and I say another;
we click and swing
like that of Newton’s cradle,
each clank of steel
sending us into a trance
of loveless complacency.

*

Misuse

Love is like a substance,
misused and freely
seeping through our veins;
and I’m not strong enough
to resist injecting anything
to dilute its influence.

*

Delvon T. Mattingly, who also goes by D.T. Mattingly, is a writer from Louisville, Kentucky and a PhD candidate in epidemiology at the University of Michigan. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Learn more about his work at http://delvonmattingly.com/.