Sorry!

A solar physicist told her
sunlight was a waste
on some people who didn’t use its light—
vampires that vacuumed the warmth
without thought for its source.

He traced her freckles
like Sunspots
and entered her heart like a flare;
a sudden brightness—
a magnetic storm.

But he plugged her to
a tanning bed
and drained her hydrogen fuel
to improve his complexion.

And when she collapsed
under the weight of gravity,
“I’m sorry.”

But “Sorry!”
was a Parker Brothers board game
in which she never got to play
the blue piece in a family of four,

never really meant
by the player
who pushed her aside
to further himself.

“Sorry,” he said.

“It’s okay.
I get a new start.”