An Argument About Being Needy While Underneath Binary Stars (duplex)

after Jericho Brown

I am afraid of being a lightyear
because I fear what lies in the dark.

I fear the dark, because it can be so easy to lie.
For instance: when I said I needed some space,

I hoped you would’ve read the space
between my breath as a cry for more attention.

You lose air when I cry for more attention,
having to gravitate toward spectroscopic closeness.

Spectroscopic binaries means our gravities are too close
to the point of wobble. My weight stretched to bits.

There is no point if not to wait for your orbit.
I am nothing at a close distance.

I am close to nothing near the infrared.
I am afraid of being a lightyear away.

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