i want to scour every surface
with a bottle of pine-sol
(because you love the smell)

i want to do your dishes
i want to get rid of every germ you shed
every morsel of food
that didn’t get swallowed
every sneeze left unguarded
from the bathroom mirror
every particle of skin that turned to dust
or fell from your eyelashes

anti bacterial
bleach
alcohol
more alcohol

i want to erase every trace of you
i want to grit and grind the nitty gritty
cover every face
of every billboard
and every sign
and every artwork
because their face had a nose, two eyes and ears
and so does yours
and so they remind me of you

please erase
delete, remove,
redact, get rid,
be gone, farewell,
adieu, to god,
to god, get out,
get out every part of you
from every part of me

every ounce of semen that you spilled on my back
every drop of sweat that seeped into mine

please wipe it up
and check it with a UV wand when you’re done

because i don’t want to be caught up in any part of you
that isn’t right here, in the present, with me