Is a chemical your body releases
When you hug someone for twenty seconds
Or more. It churns through the bloodstream, direct to the
Brain, as we hold to each other
Tightly, intertwined. You gain more trust
In the other person that way. Or so Wikipedia said.
I feel your hot breath sting below my cheek, the hairs
Prickle with something –
Something I wouldn’t want to disclose with you right now.

A dull roar from the pit of my stomach acknowledges itself:
‘Beastly, beastly’ I cry. I say it again. No one hears. I am left
In the shadows of my own dreams, dragged down by ribbons
That coil and recoil themselves around my ankles.
Just one more breath. Just one...

When we hug for twenty seconds or more
Is it released? Or is it something else?