that girl loved to chew gum

whenever

i have

a piece of gum and begin

chewing it

i think of Leslie.

she loved gum

in her mouth.

she snapped it, popped it,

blew enormous

bubbles.

she'd twist it 

with her fingers, pulling

it like taffy.

she couldn't sit still without

a wad

of gum,

the kind you got

from packs of baseball cards

being her favorite.

she didn't care

about the cards,

Mickey Mantle,

Mel Stottlemyer, Reggie Jackson,

Mike Epstein,

but i saved them in a shoe

box.

that girl loved gum.

she even chewed it when we

were making

love.

then stuck the wad

onto the headboard

when we

were done.