the belle of the ball

there is someone else's smile
draped across your shoulders
the newest item in the summer collection
of love still new to the touch

and it suits you
happiness suits you
you wear it well

and i have never heard you
laugh this much before

and there are bruises shaped like her teeth
arranged artfully on your collarbones
like your skin is a bowl
and hickeys are a fruit
and this is all just set-up
for someone else's still-life painting

except you are thrumming
with the energy of her smile
and you are anything but still

and the sound of her voice saying your name
like a prayer or a plea or some new profanity
is lodged in your throat
tinting everything you say a shade of happy
i have never seen on you before

and there is someone else's smile
draped across your shoulders
and you move like it has always been there
and i'm forgetting what you look like without it

and it suits you
happiness suits you