The Volume of It All Since

I collect tattoos and scars.
the giant scar on my nose was given
to me by the sun via cancer.

the tattoo on my right bicep was given
to me by a girl in Union Square. 

I collect girls, too. 
keep some here. 
and some there.
in boulevards and hearts.

carried by the words
that I write here before I sleep before I wake up. 

I keep life loud.
top of the speakers.
the ones that speak to me. 

even though
I thought love was numb and ugly, it is not. 

I am always wrong.
I like being wrong.
I hate being right.