Sterling Warner
Cupid's Bow
Coral-pink lipstick imprinted on plate glass
that partitioned the quad and cafeteria
remained unwashed, resilient despite
winter rains, fastidious custodians,
practical jokers, and jealous classmates
who all seemed to respect a moment
of separation between two crushing
teens sharing a middle school kiss.
The unnamed couple parted ways
yet their gesture endured; keeping pace
with the times, osculation hues changed
replacing pinkish-white pecks with claret red
tinges, gothic matte black to anything goes gloss
each generation defining moments touching lips
through windowpanes leaving multicolored rainbows
linking young love to a bridge of dreams.
Bio
An award-winning Washington-based author, and educator, Sterling Warner's works have appeared literary magazines, journals, and anthologies including Anti-Heroin Chic, Shot Glass Journal, Sparks Of Calliope, and Fib Review. Warner's collections of poetry include Rags And Feathers, Without Wheels, Shadowcat, Edges, Memento Mori, Serpent's Tooth, Flytraps: Poems, and Cracks Of Light: Pandemic Poetry & Fiction, and Halcyon Days: Collected Fibonacci (Forthcoming: Summer 2022)-as well as Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories. Currently, Warner writes, hosts/participates in live & virtual poetry readings, and enjoys retirement in Washington.