Armadillo only kisses me
when there is a full moon
or when it rains.
Sometimes we lay in bed
and stare at the ceiling’s lamp.
Sometimes Armadillo
gives me a back rub.
He places his bony fingers
around my neck and massages
away the day’s thoughts.
Sometimes Armadillo
puts his mouth near my ear
and whispers a poem he
wrote on a napkin during lunch.
Besides these rare occasions
we hardly ever touch.
We watch reruns of
Alias Smith and Jones instead.
We have a debate as to
why the main character
was murdered by his girlfriend.
Sometimes Armadillo comes up
with a better answer than mine.
Sometimes I win the debate.
Sometimes we discuss
who was scarier Bella Lugosi
or Boris Karloff?
Sometimes I make Armadillo dinner.
His favorite is shellfish although
I must be very careful never
to serve him snails al ajillo
because snails remind him of his first love.
Tonight there will be a full moon
and the weather channel is predicting rain.
Tonight Armadillo
will put his boney fingers
around my neck and place
his other boney hand in the small
of my back and lean down
and kiss me first softly
and then with emotion
as if he has never kissed
me under the full moon
or rain before and
I will pull him close to me
so I can feel everything that is hard
about Armadillo as if life
were not hard enough.
