Brown Sweater

You know what I meant

When I said I love your sweater.

You know, the one that's brown

And has horizontal white stripes across it.

Seeing you wear it reminds me of that time

We took the elevator to the eighth floor,

Even though I finished by the fifth.

The stain on the wrist of the sleeve

From all the Chinese food we ate out that day,

The leftovers we had in bed that night,

And how they proved to be much spicier than earlier.

It kept you warm while we dug our love in the sand,

And it tore and got tattered when I grabbed at your belt

So many restless nights in a row.

No matter how many times it’s washed,

It still smells of us and all our endless tragedies,

But especially of you.

I still wear it to bed every night,

Even if you aren’t here for me to tear at

Or peel it off of.

Just one more thing you threw away,

Right beside me and our love.