A wink or giggle—that hesitation—
Was fashionable, polite even, as it
Undressed from the neck downward.
Lust both generic and clinical,
Planted kisses on a practice dummy,
The Poet’s Anatomical Encyclopedia.
Bit by bit by bit by bit by bit by bit
With the mouth, mouthpiece of the soul.
Shoulders,
Arms,
Nipples,
Breasts.
[under there’s a secret sealed valve—
ligamentum arteriosum—a baby heart’s
short-circuit substitute for breathing
in the airless [...]

Airport #3.
I silently raise my arms
letting her run the metal detector
up my legs
against my back
my breasts
her mouth taut, tingling.
I remove my shoes, belt, ring
I hand over my phone.
I even laugh with the men at Customs
as they unzip my luggage,
pulling out espresso cups I rolled in socks.
“What’s this?” one asks
groping my coffeemaker.
Earlier, at the second airport, [...]