Finding the Girl

This is hide and seek
little red riding hood and every tale
where the girl disappears

she got left at the airport
lost in the grocery store
locked in the basement
left for dead

she was kidnapped
neglected
hit

her stepmother hated her
her stepfather abused her
her mother gave her
away

These are different girls
These are different girls with similar stories
These are different girls with similar stories that always end the same way
the girl disappears

She escaped
ran away
rebelled
recovered
remembered
Now she's my girlfriend and I have to find the girl

I find her asleep on the bathroom floor
Behind trees
Playing Nintendo
Fostering sick kittens

I find her despite
Three phone numbers
Two pagers
Broken locks

I find her in a stolen car
Towed motorcycle
Torched truck

I find her between dust motes
Crack houses
Two horses

Now she's my girlfriend and I have to find her

I find the girl by following her need like
breadcrumbs
the states on the map
the lines on the road
the green exit sign above the door

Now she's my girlfriend and I have to find her

Nobody else bothers

But I find the girl

I find the girl
It takes time
can opener wrenches slowly
duct tape introduced to itself
rough hands
a crack in the paisley wall
her T-shirt may never come off

I find the girl by remembering her waist
hands
neck

I find the girl by remembering she's a girl
I find the girl
And then I make love to her like a man
And then I make love to her like a woman
And then I crawl in and play jacks with the girl
We tell stories and hold hands
but her hand is a faulty night light
that flickers and then
disappears