Stay away from me

I don't understand what you mean when you said

(His weight is unimaginable -- a scarecrow's laugh)

it just doesn't make sense to me.
Good poem though!

Okay, you had some good images in the poem, but there needs to be more. I don't know why the character in this poem is doing what they do. It feels kind of empty. Don't give a whole history, but tell the reader why. What happened that made the situation change? What about the kiss brought them back?

Besides that, very nice job.

I am very confused?

It starts out like a rape scene and then ends up being a silly scarcrow helium balloon?????

I really don't know what you mean.

(His weight is unimaginable -- a scarecrow's laugh)

A lovely line in itself, but it doesn't seem consistent with the wording of "we once hovered above this bed" [eh, on second thought, maybe it does; something to think about if you haven't done so already, at any rate.] It's different, but that's what makes it just as interesting. Not a word wasted, of course. I like the idea/image/what-have-you of the balloons. [between the rye, the scarecrow, and the balloons, it made me think of The Wizard of Oz.]

(The great Brad does it again.) I think a lot of our less talented poets (well, that's about 99.9999% of YWS) could learn a lot from what you've done here.

For example, the scarecrow's laugh line is excellent. Not only is it a great simile, it shows the ability of a poet to draw on the connotations of words to create a neat image. It made me think.

I unwrap myself from rented sheets,
feel the heat from his breath like a slow-rolling fog.
Beside me in bed, his arm crosses
the arch of his nose, and I think:

Rye. His skin is the color of rye.

This, the opening, was probably the weakest part. Comparing "his breath" to "slow-rolling fog" doesn't do much for me. I feel as though I've read it before.
I also think that the interjection about his skin being the color of rye is unnecessary. It's a decent image, but I find it irrelevant and awkward compared to the rest of the poem. Admittedly it's better than, "His eyes are like clear pools..." *gags* but I think the poem would be more helped than hurt if it went bye-bye.

A kiss like a paper cut
brought us back

This, too, made me feel like I had read it somewhere else. It's one of those things you sort of subconsciously skip over or disregard on the first read-through and shrug off upon going back.

On a formatting/punctuation note, I wondered why the speaker's first one-line thought ("Rye. His skin is the color of rye.") was italicized and had a period at the end, while the second thought ("(His weight is unimaginable -- a scarecrow's laugh)") was put into parentheses and did not have a period, or anything else for that matter, at the end.

-Colleen

I lean out the window and watch
the little red dots falter, ache in the morning sun,
and disappear.

I liked that bit, but the rest just confused me.

I liked it but it is a bit confusing.
And I don't really get how his arm could cross the arch of his nose... *trys it* I guess you could, but it is very awkward and makes your nose hurt...

And the title, "Stay away from me" It doesnt really fit in with the poem.
It is a good poem though, and I love the line about the scarecrow's luagh.

feel the heat from his breath[s] like[/s] , a slow-rolling fog.
Beside me in bed, his arm crosses
the arch of his nose, and I think:

[s]Rye[/s]. His skin is the color of rye.

Once we hovered above this bed.
A kiss like a paper cut

Judging by your style of writing, any deadwood, cliches and wordy similes should be cut. You've always been down to the point. I'd hate to be a hypocrite, but it's a bit superfluous. Also, I think "a kiss like a paper cut" was in the lyrics of a Hawthorne Heights song, but I could be wrong.

(His weight is unimaginable -- a scarecrow's laugh)

A long, simple metaphor. I get it, but I think saying "His weight is / matched a scarecrow's laugh" would generally be less choppy.

The last lines of your poems are always amazing - do you start there and work backward?