(this poem is for my lovers who were once the suns in my skies: i am sorry that i never ravished you enough and that there is nothing to be done about the passing of time)
Remember your lovers
but, especially, don’t forget them, while they are in your bedroom
with their hair disheveled and their clothes strewn.
notice them as they stand before you
as there they lie,
tell them that you’re touched a thousand times
of every inch take a picture with your unabashed eye
because this will change, as pictures fade, so does love die
Smell your lovers, their wide open skin
like bare shoulders, before toast, in the morning
pheromones will be what you don’t know you miss
when you’re standing beside ex’s
feeling suddenly nostalgic.
Could be soap, could be freshly-washed clothes
most likely it’s the mix of hidden chemicals,
the silent scent
that perfumers will never get
but you will remember it
long after love goes
so hold your lovers close
as you are drifting off, sharing oxygen and oxytocin both
memorize the napes of their necks, the crooks of their wrists, the way their breathing
rises and falls
knees get cuddled only in one kind of spot
and they will miss this once the spoon is gone
like you will miss the puzzle when you don’t get to be a part.
And, so, while you are
with your limbs entangled in ways that warm your heart
remember to notice it
so that the last night doesn’t go by without you noticing
and only in the sunshine do you know these things
while you pine for one more chance to lay with your loved one when night is falling
This is a plea, mostly for me, so I may remember next time I am to be a puzzle piece
also, it is for the lovers I have held and known
who have been my comforts
as well as my abrasions
I remember the days our skin was first waking
and the love we made then
like we were scorched earth
and it was raining.
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