TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO TOOK CARE OF MY BODY By: Nadia Leiby

I am bathing in the taste of yesterday’s you,

Slivers of ourselves tucked between my sheets

You, mumbling beautiful nonsense,

face pressed against my breast,

the sirens of Richmond outside my window screaming to me

that I am being vulnerable,

aren’t I crazy?

But no,

This tenderness, my fingers wrapping

around your body

like tendrils of English ivy begging you for more

feels warm in the pit of my stomach.

It is a heat like red wine

as I stare at you from under my lashes.

You, so bashful underneath the artful layers,

so easily unwrapping me like hard candy.

I keep waiting for you to crack me between your jaw –

to break me and

chew me and

spit me out but

you do not.

Your kiss lingers on my neck

while I make you coffee.

Mostly naked, I watch you and wonder

what keeps you so tired.

I hope one day I will know and

one day you will sleep soundly

in my arms. 

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