missing cat / trade-off
i bare my breasts
(willing-reluctant)
in a little room.
outside my cat is missing
once again beneath the full moon
and i know there are coyotes in these hills
who close in,
mercilessly,
for the kill.
meanwhile your fingers probe,
your tongue explores
and through the window
venus falls down from the sky
into a waiting gorge.
i lie there feeling nothing
and all,
while my mind wanders elsewhere.
i came here to be held,
but my history again overwhelms
and it's not you,
but being 4 and 8 and 16, i re-live.
i've been so well trained
that yet once more,
against belief,
i let someone take
what really should be
mine to give...
phoenix / little green apples / devil's pact / blue / photo album / man with a gun / slanted bird / missing cat / support links / poem index