SHH -
That is the way they spell it.
One snake, two ladders.
That's life - so calm down, the sound seems to say
as it escapes your rounded lips.

SHH,
The grown-up cousin
of the sizzle -
the sensuous serpentine siren,
the sunken sinner without a ladder,
the hiss that emanates like a mating call
as our limbs entwine.

SHH.
As it emerges from your throat,
it lingers on your tongue just a little,
grazes your teeth just a little,
before landing decisively in my ears
like a slightly tempted ascetic.


SHH...may the ellipsis lead us to the ladders.
SHH...