tinder
You slide smoothly between red-painted lips
With unfamiliar hands upon your thighs that slightly shake as you delve into the unknown.
A twitch and a gasp in a darkened room,
And a silent search for keys
By the moonlight leaking in through someone else’s window.
We are so cautious, so careful
Playing minesweeper with every step.
Hold your cards close to your chest and for god’s sake don’t let them see if you have any hearts.
You’re judging resumes based upon the appeal of the stamp on the envelope.
And you grasp at these tiny sparks that could become flames,
But you’re too eager and you’re afraid
And you smother them with the sweat of your body.
You bare your skin to a stranger without a second thought,
Even as you wrap your heart in snow clothes and Kevlar.
This jungle of flesh is so tempting,
But you’ve stayed too long
And you’ve strayed from your path.
Every berry you have sampled from every bush you have passed
Has slowly poisoned you.
You don’t even realise you’ve been dying by inches for years.
And as your fists sprout little tufts of dark hair that flow like blood toward your wrists,
You sigh and slide smoothly between red-painted lips
Before you even think to ask her name.
© mjc 10 February 2017
