i.

Taste synapses

: the infraorbital nerve connects the upper lip to the lower eyelid; trace    
a kiss like a Venn diagram. Mouths open to be filled. Eyes open to blur.

ii.

Lace fingers with toes

: like pressing black keys, ivory, discordant
ligaments. Knuckle hinged creature, a fand.

iii.

Sleep spine against spine

: ribcages swell like the throats of toads synching. A popcorn
ceiling undulates paint. Shadow to shadow to bodies like ink-
blots, bodies, black-chalk-soft.

__

I was on the verge of sleep when I realized my boyfriend and I were spooning back to back. I shot up and wrote the final stanza; the poem was written backwards.