Lemonade

my thumb traces
across the glass
where our lips met

Water Kiss

Paper-dry are my lips
My tongue numb and slow
Give me breath and life
And I shall give you all of me

A Kiss Good Night

Over where the sun has set
The day has not quite ended yet
And again I’ll ask for a good night kiss
The pleasure of your smiling lips

They are so tender and dear to me
And their briefest touch sets me free
From a night of trouble, ill, or woe
Only gladness do they generously sow

So come anew, grant my heart’s desire:
Both soothing balm and purifying fire

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Transfiguration

Petrified, my heart
Refuses your vain entreaties
Deny the charm of your
Silver-plated words
Which do insinuate
Like cold serpents.
Give me your kiss of sin
So I may spit the poison
Into the well of your being
Which I devour —
A rapacious beast.

Valentine Heart

People say they give their hearts away
At the first date or kiss
During the nuptial vows
But I give my heart to you
Day by day
Moment by moment
Because love does not stop giving
It does stop growing or living
Just as we do —
I love you

True Love’s Kiss

If you are not mine
Then do not be his
Or I shall tear asunder
That chain which binds you.
He who speaks
In forked tongue
Honeyed entrapment
Foul and black —
If only I could have
Awakened you
To truth.
Alas, in lieu
Of an impotent kiss
There is only:
Bloodshed

Love Mark

On a cold winter day
The heat of your breath
Leaves a tattoo on my cheek;
It tingles in the shape of your kiss.

My Favorite Hour

The warmth of three o’clock
Is hot cocoa after the steam melts
Into a white-ghost wisp
Is the sun suspended on her swing, falling
Just below the apex
Is the lingering memory of a kiss
Embraced before it grays
Recalled on the last note —
The splendor of a serenade

Love Is All

A kiss I give you when you ask
A kiss I give you when you plead
A kiss I give you when you throw away
All the other things you thought you’d rather receive