Body like an old house
Rickety frame from where
The termites have made their homes
Warped wood and rusty nails
Bones like beams
Skin like plaster
Hips sway like lace curtains
Moved by the breeze
Overlaying dusty glass
Your tongue like flames
Flick it out
Set this foundation ablaze

We do not call ourselves poets
We bleed when the light does
Proof of our existence
We are not poets
We are translators
We translate the heave of a chest
Into ink
Give words to the desire that burns sheets
Leaving them full of holes
Keep your eyes peeled
And ears alert
It floats through the air
And we are still breathing in
Something beautiful

Please don’t let me know
When my lips have ceased to be
The last ones you’ve kissed

My pain is so dense and heavy
It is almost tangible
I only wish that I could give some of it to you
But that is selfish  
I never belonged to you
And you never belonged to me
So I know I have no right to be upset
But tell that to my arms
That ache from the restraint I’ve put on them
When all they want is to pull you closer
Or perhaps notify my heart to stop
Speeding up when you smile
Better still
Force my lungs to stop their rapid breathing
Forgive them
They just want to take all of you in
And I know this sounds crazy
But I’m still trying to figure out
Why there were no flashing lights
No alarm to tell me
“This is only a test”
“This isn't the real thing”

Every minute that passes
Lays down a mile between us
And I’m trapped in the space between
You never offered
And
I never asked
It’s been one month
Since your lips have been on mine
Since you were underneath me
How many minutes
How many miles
How far away are you now

There are soft things in this world
Right now, I don’t want you to be one of them
Love me hard
**** me hard
Make it hard to let go of your 2 am cigarette lips
I have spent so much of my life being told to be careful
Tonight, I want someone to show me how to be reckless
Make it so hard to stop thinking of you my dreams slam themselves against your image
Come
Press your lips hard to mine, do not treat them gently, they are so hungry for you
Don’t stop there
Press your body so hard to mine there isn’t room for air in my lungs, and so they fill themselves with you
Do not be soft
There will be plenty of time for the sort of softness that comes from the way my head fits so perfectly in the crook of your neck
From the way I would send a troop of police escorts away because I feel safer with your arms around my waist
There will be time
Right now, don’t be afraid to make things hard

I saw a picture of you today
You were wearing the shirt you wore
When you kissed me
I know shirts can be washed
And worn again
But you were also wearing the same smile
And that left me to wonder
Can you wear the same smile twice
Did you forget to ever take it off
Can you wash it
Hang it up to dry
Be careful
It’s delicate
Or can you wear that smile
For another
Was there someone else
To help you hand-wash it
In the sink
Carefully placing it over the clothes line
In the backyard
Then gently
Help you put it back on
You,
Carelessly flaunting
Such a beautiful thing