Poem: Before and After

i’d rather have you,
every groggy morning,
kiss my stomach
through (your) thin gray t-shirt i threw on
than hear the sound
“iloveyou.”

go on and say i’m crazy.

still.

*****

when times have
tiptoed off
what do we have
but contour memories
toast crumb words
crudely reassembled.

all i gathered were sensations.

and will the skin forget?

This article appears in January 2011.