Untitled by Rita Ackermann, via
face to face,
inspired by ted hughes’ lovesong
your glances were land mines,
tripped in my amygdala.
my eyes were tousled songbirds,
flitting about the room.
your heart a sprinter,
i held the stopwatch.
my smile a sinking ship,
you gulped it whole.
your voice the edge of a steak knife,
with my lips the steak,
my palms were magnets for your palms
cold and heavy and drawing us closer.
your laugh a bomb bursting in air,
too loud and standing for something.
my cheeks the rockets’ red glare,
rosy and burning into a headache.
each breath a roller coasting
off its tracks, and us along for the ride.
