She found security in his starry eyes and bolo ties. Pupils brighter than Pluto combined with Texas-sized confidence, in the form of passé fashion. He was neither Southern, nor gentleman. She was not quite yet a lady. But she swooned over his style. Muttonchops like continents. Scratchy voice like tumbleweed skidding down the throat. She was sheltered. Homely honor roll girl who always listened to her parents. But she equated bad boys with bad style, and latched onto the first man-child she met. He wore a mullet not a Stetson, but promised a ride into the sunset. She was much obliged. His Chevy backseat was their honeymoon suite. Her impatient legs, pistols in heat.

Daniel Romo’s work appears or is forthcoming in Gargoyle, The Los Angeles Review, MiPOesias, Yemassee, and elsewhere. His first book of poetry, Romancing Gravity, is forthcoming from Pecan Grove Press. His second book of poetry, When Kerosene’s Involved, is forthcoming from Black Coffee Press. He teaches creative writing, and lives in Long Beach, CA. More of his writing can be found at danielromo.wordpress.com