as i fall to the earth
soft, warm, and wet from
the rain
you follow me there
tied to me with unseen
strings
neither of us certain
of who is under whose
control
neither of us caring
such is the nature of our
addiction
moonlight is a ******
staring hungrily
at my arched back
your strong arms
our points of connection
our bodies outlined in silver
the strings that bind us together coil
tighter
and tighter
leaving marks on
my wrists
on your back
around my neck
urging us closer and closer
your name catches in my throat
while my own name leaves
my brain
unnecessary information
lost to make space for
your fingers
and
your tongue

two stormy seas in which to dive
almost without a thought i do
and yet here you are in my ocean
deep enough to drown and even deeper still you plunge
you reach my sea floor and sink your fingers into soft sand, as yet untouched
i gasp, swallowing saltwater condensation on your skin
as you create waves
so close to cresting
so close to crashing against you
i need to breathe
i pull you up to the surface, soaked, treading water, waiting for the moment you can dive again
and lick the salt from
your lips

you are an open book to me
your eyes reveal pages of wisdom, pages of tenderness, pages of pure passion
i could read you cover to cover
over and over
i don’t dare dog ear your pages
crack your spine
highlight my favorite passages
for i do not own you
i want to memorize
every line that my fingers trace
every word that my tongue tastes
all of you
i could read you
cover to cover
over and over
every chapter leaves me wanting
more and more
and when i finally finish you
i will want nothing more
than to reread you
cover to cover
over and over
finding parts that i passed
delighting in every
printed
word
you are a marvel in literature
from your prologue
to your epilogue
and back again
even when i’m not reading all i can think about is
the next time i can
open you up
breathe you in
and consume your sweet story
cover to cover
over and over

heat overwhelms me
i say i know not what i do
and in part i speak truth

when for a short time
i see angels
before my own star collapses

i rise
as i alone guide my hand
catching my own breath

then winter comes
and a tide of reality crashes back down around me

i am still and yet shaken
whole and yet somehow unsatisfied

the coals inside me die down
extinguished temporarily
and i sleep

no one had ever written a poem about me before
the words you'd written slid from the page to coat my skin like oil
my face flushed

no one had ever written a poem about me before
the words you'd written stared at my mouth, waiting for me to speak
i could not answer

no one had ever written a poem about me before
the words you'd written smoldered, blistering my hands
i could not hold you

no one had ever written a poem about me before
we were younger then, and
you've since written about many others
but

no one had ever written a poem about me before

my hands want to autocorrect to you

to change every word i've written to your name
to change every word i've spoken to your name
to change every word i've thought to your name

again, again, again

i wonder if i come unbidden to your thoughts like you do to mine
overwhelming, overtaking, overcoming, all of you
i wonder if i've visited you in your dreams like you have mine
overwhelming, overtaking, overcoming, all of me

again, again, again

i wonder if you'll ever read what i've written about you
i wonder if i'll ever tell you what i've thought about you
i wonder if the time will ever be right

again, again, again

i imagine us falling into each other, crashing, breaking, shattering
i imagine us laying together in our own fragments, water seeping through our cracks
i imagine us walking into the coldest part of the night to watch the sunrise

again, again, again

in theory
warmth on a warm day
shouldn't be what i want

but locked into you
holding on for dear life
while my toes barely
touch the floor
sweat is sweet

i hold the heat
my hands damp
my eyes wide for lack of light

if you are summer
melt the ice that lingers on my riverbed
guide the snowmelt down between my banks
i don't want to be cold anymore