Baby, I went back in time for you.
I took a trial run of the time machine
crouching in the blue energy ball
that opened in a Los Angeles alley—
trash and newspaper swirling
around my unrequited asphalt origins.
And baby, I faced that faceless,
muscle-bound cyborg for you.
And why? you wonder, while we make pipe bombs.
I’ll tell you—Love. Yes, I’ve loved you
from future through present to past,
and I’ll love you long after I’m fried
and time—that cruelest laser rifle beam—
melts the precious Polaroid of your face.
————
Benjamin J. Chase has published poems in The Aurorean, Connecticut River Review, Windhover, and many other journals. A Connecticut native, he has an M.F.A. from Western Connecticut and currently teaches high school English.