~ DRINK ME ~

Shakes my blood, the song beaten through my veins while dancing.

What to do with this smell of cedar

yet lingering on my dusty clothes. Ten thousand memories climb into bed with me,

twist up the sheets, fingers in my hair. You came,

or did I, for the sway and shiver of bodies listening

to each other on the dance floor – one who gathers me in his arms,

saying goodbye even as he holds me; one who takes my hand in darkness,

slow to let it fall. And these are not the same man.

And there are others – none belonging to me – just drinking now and then

at the bar I open in my heart. Where I am good to drink with – quietly

sympathetic, no answers to provide, no more than a steady arm.

I will kiss you when you taste of whiskey, say goodnight until morning

is close enough to see through. I follow the heartbeat,

the earth you carry with you, burying me with rhythm, swallowing me with eyes.