in which we discover the center

tracing constellations
on my freckles

nose
to cheek

cheek
to chin

telling me
about the stars
clustered
in my skin

the kind
of shit
you say
when you want to say

something

but don’t know
what

i’m grinning
like an
idiot

can’t help it
lying here

constellations
posed on my
face, radiant

star light
beaming
shining

hitting your eyes
hard don’t you
feel it

milky way licking
my lips
like

shut up
shut up

let me
tell you how
beautiful you
are and

how infinite
it all
just became

lying here
a vast
cosmos

within me

you have discovered
a starry eyed realm

ours to
subdue

For A

i got your
letter
last thursday

it had been
raining

you would have liked it
you would have said

it was nice

pulling the
envelope
out:

the return address
only
your nomadic
name

breaking
the seal was

your chin
on my shoulder

12 am
last year

you made
me grilled cheese
sandwiches with
yellow Kraft singles

and laughing we
leaned over
your deck railing
to catch the passing
train

late night
cigarette light
smoothing
over
your cheeks

but your words now
tracking rapid frantic
across the page

betray a loneliness
i knew haunted
you then,
now
it seems

it has not yet
left

you talk in
circles
that stick
foggy on my eyes

weeds growing
gnarled and thick
over a tomb

so much you
it makes me
cry

leaning heart
heavy

holding your letter
with trembling pale
hands

i hurt for
you

too
because

i know
how hard

it was
to
write
such

delicate
words

i take
your face
in my hands
and tell you
it is all beautiful

it is all beautiful
it will not hurt you

and

you would have liked it
you would have said

it was nice

in which i sympathize with belshazzar

tonight
the walls
burble

radiator
groans

around
elevator
murmurs

dull
human
droning

sharp
floor
squeaks

just loud enough
to be
considerate conversation

listen, i say
they are talking to us

you ask
what are they saying

but when did
i become the
wall interpreter

head nestled
in your chest

heart vibrations
intermingling with
heady wall tremors

both tattooing
quick on my
ears like

catch it! catch it!

this
conversation
will be over
so soon and

i don’t even
know what
was said

i squint dim
into the bedroom
looking for an answer

modern day belshazzar
frantic head pacing

god damn
something
is written there

in the air

i trace your arms
hoping

the invisible ink
shimmering
child like overhead

has dried braille
on your skin

in your dimly lit bedroom / my body thinks aloud

you pass me
a cold IPA

pulling bed covers
closer over
your chest

i take a swig

the hops
bitter
seize my tongue

washing

your salt taste

down

my
throat like

rain pooling
into street
gutters

guzzling inward

slipping
crashing
buzzing

into
me

so
when
your hand
grabs
mine

interlocking digits
interlinking
eyes

hazel like
autumn forest moss
grown thin by the
creek

not blinking
but sinking

heavy into
my own
blue
so thick

i almost choke
on the

taste

too soon
sudden
sweet

catching me
quick by the ankles

kissing
up my
thigh

i sink
into you

my stomach
plunging

purple velvet
on the turn table

tripping over
itself

twisting into
complications

cumulus clouds

over
stormy
sea