It’s hard to feel unwanted when somebody wants you

It’s hard to feel left outside with someone inside you

It’s hard to feel unsexy when somebody fucks you

It’s hard to feel exposed with someone on top of you

And it’s easy to sleep when you’re not alone.

.

Because body heat is hard to beat

You might feel complete

Pounding poeple you meet

Quick as their pounding heartbeat.

.

It’s easy to breathe when you're breathless

It’s easy to feel high with your legs in the air

It’s easy to get close when you’re skin to skin

It’s easy to forget about love when you make it

It’s easy when you’re easy…

But once someone gets hard it gets harder -

Can you turn to someone

Once you turn them on?  

.

Flat white morning sky

Flat white sheets

Flat white ceiling

A round yellow face on my pillow.

.

Flat white coffee

Flat white conversation

Over a breakfast of eggs

On flat white plates, like the bottom of eggs

Where you can’t see their round yellow faces.

.

We flatly make some plans for the blank day,

Precise, and angular, with watches and timetables,

And fold up our paper world into shapes,

Then hide in grey corners

To pretend some colours. 

_

She squeezed shiny, new lips out of the toothpaste tube, laughing, and made herself a mouth like a wonky fish. Gripping my shoulders she kisses me quickly and gently, pressing the soft paste into my lips, which pushes slightly between them and smears around our mouths as I pull her closer to me, our kisses moving warm in the burning cold of the mint. The flavour fills up my mouth and her small arms are up against my chest between us, and I suddenly feel so full of everything warm and cool that I don’t even know where I am.  We smile at ourselves in the bathroom mirror, smeared toothpaste all round our mouths, and as we kiss again and together make tender, pressing movements along the corridor, back to the bedroom, we forget to wash it off. All through the night I feel the tingle of her mouth’s touch as it has traced across my body, and I wish I could feel her imprint forever, feel more alive and conscious of every beautiful thing she does. It’s like the soft air of the room is already nostalgic, with the light made warm-coloured by the curtains and the peaceful perfection of the rucked sheets around our smooth bodies, and my fingers tangled in her hair. 

____

Glass skin, translucent,

Draw out our would-be future to covet,