biting yr lip

staring up from the ash, smoking, in the shadow of smoke, remember:

like my tongue cut the corners of unutterable white skin
our bodies at rest, hurdling into each other
a light-tight spasm bucks yr breast

then

biting yr lip, you float above yourself
straddling a breathless gush
of heat and beaming, i

am trapped between

a choral aggression at first, fingers
roll through yr hair, lay stave winding white then red

then

i pull your mouth into mine, grind
my scripture, brittle, useless but painted and performing
paralyzed by the size of the stage, though the theatre
its polished oak columns, hirsute crimson curtains
soothe, sings gently while it burns, quick heat
pushing through the rafters, everything on fire

oh, now memory rising.