maddening

your teeth fit into mine; biting into a cold apple

layers to interactions--slip in. teeth chatter

layers dissolving mixing fluids, fluids mixing

hands slide the curve of your back, the place between your collar bone and neck

jaw muscles relaxed bracing for what’s to come

gripping; an unspoken understanding, a knowing of inevitability

eat me, cold apple

sticky honey clings between us, a sweetness that binds, blinds and lingers--refusing to fade

as the sweetness turns bitter, as all ripe things do, we stay locked in this quiet destruction

teeth pressed into truths too sharp to swallow

until there's nothing left but the imprint of our hunger,

etched into the air; between New York and California