Strand

Content warning: adult themes

Her

Her black woolen coat. Silver skull buttons. Bobbed brunette hair pinned to cheekbones by the beanie she’d crocheted. Along the railroad tracks, our sneakers catch on jagged rocks–scraping, clinking. Laughter. Hazy moonlight. Spritz of spray paint. Intoxicating sweet scent mingling with her violet perfume. Feeling airy inside. Her hand. Slender fingers, nails tipped in ribbons of red. Her waist. As I pull her to me, her can rattles a cacophony of surprise to find itself tumbling over rocks. I muffle her giggle as I gently press my lips to hers. Close my eyes. Feel this moment rushing into me through her touch.

Moonlight

Brunette buttons

Our sneakers giggle

Hazy kiss

Her hand sweet

Cacophony of me

Press violet gently

Cheekbones clinking

Hair tumbling

Catch on silver surprise

Her tracks

Touch jagged laughter

Lips

Intoxicating ribbons

Paint

Him

Romping naked in the stream with him. Moonlit glow. Splashes of crisp water. Shrieks of laughter. Crickets whisper to leaves answering back. Catch my waist as I reach for the shore. Icy embrace turning warm with each slow second we kiss. Hand sliding over water droplets on my back. Drawing me nearer. Breathless inhale. Droplets like morning dew cling to curls of his hair, drop to my cheeks as my face tilts to meet his. Close my eyes. Feel this moment rushing into me through his touch.

Glowing kiss

Water draws

Leaves breathe

Warm perfect embrace

Romping in this whisper

Moonlight catches me

Icy crickets’ laughter

Splashing

Turning his hand

Slow naked moment

Her

She descends the staircase, pausing on the landing. Naked toes on walnut planks. Black lace nightgown. Dawn’s kiss on her cheek through stained glass over her shoulder. The words in my notebook assign meaning to every day with her. Within her presence, they fall to the floor as I rise. Smile and a hand offered forth.

Paint lips in tangerine

Circle mirror 

Flick of winged tips 

Darkened lashes

Exhale your beauty softly

The ink, a stain in your skin

The past, a stain in your soul

I want to ripple the surface

Aware

All that lies still within

Trapped just below

Glowing

Him

Curls escape the blanket over his head. Streaks of morning sun from which he hides. Tattooed hand. I slide beneath to join him. He opens his eyes. The words in my notebook assign meaning to every day with him. Within his presence, they fall to the floor as I succumb. Smile and a hand offered forth.

Paint drips from your fingertips

As you color me in

Expand me 

Beyond these vibrating lines

With your touch

I become 

Boundless

Draw me to you

Stain me

With your shadows

I want

The art

The lines

The colors of you

What am I to you? A question mark? Everything? Or nothing? Something yearned to explore? A secret? A familiar electric? Can you see through me? Am I a mirror in your eyes? Perfection tainted? Beauty frayed? A twinge of hope? A whisper of smoke? A fingerprint on glass? Breath in frozen air? A kiss? A twist of the hips? The patter of rain on the roof? What am I to you?

Us

The porch light. Anticipation, even at three a.m. Moths flutter an electric courtship in the glow. Reach for my key, but hers is already turning the knob. From iPad sketches, he looks up. An eyebrow raise. Quiet, yawning moment. The three of us dash at once for the stairs. Scuffle towards the room with the queen sized bed. Hands clap to the door jamb; somehow, his is last. Perhaps on purpose? It doesn’t matter. He retreats down the stairs. Her coat and mine start a messy pile on the floor–her blouse, my t-shirt, her lacy skirt, my jeans. Her waist, adorned with the scorpion tattoo. His boots rhythmically tap the stairs. Six-pack of beer bottles clink to the marble end table. My hand at the nape of her neck, bobbed hair through my fingers. As I kiss her, his belt buckle clanks to the walnut planked floor. His hand over mine. His firm body warm against us. Curls of his hair caress my cheekbone. Open my eyes. His inked hand to my chin, drawing me into his kiss. 

Cheekbones

Perfume tumbling into me

Moonlight clinking

Violet laughter

Him

Our sneakers

Rushing laughter turning

Crickets embrace

Ribbons inside

Slow whisper close

Intoxicating

Fingers catch on moonlight

Her hand

Cacophony of moments

Crocheted leaves

Moonlight spritz

Eyes breathe

Hazy touch

Of surprise

Us

Sunny side, hash browns, black coffee at two p.m. Saturday. Beside him. Across from her. iPad doodles. Shadows and form. Colors and line. Underneath the skin–a different, brighter color. She updates status, floating above her hidden life. Filters. Selfies. Appearances cloaking unspoken lies. Painting tangerine lips. The words in my notebook assign meaning to every day with them. Footsteps, plaster casts. Marking the trail behind me. Finding myself, instead. A locket about her neck. Glint of gold slipping, passing past nails tipped in ribbons of red. Paint dripping from his fingertips, coloring beyond the lines of me. Hands offered forth. Clinking of dishes. Snippets of strangers’ conversations. Wandering eyes defining what we mean to them. A couple and her friend? Business buddies? Relatives? Never the truth--Him and me and me and her and her and him and us.

Wings vibrating

Boundless

Aware

Become you

Fingertips

Tangerine lashes

All colors

Draw to this mirror

Beauty

Me beyond

Within skin

Paint lines with your ripples

Stain shadows softly

Drip to the surface

Ink in my soul

Color deepened

Expanded from below

Encircle

You and me and me and you

Exhale

Paint

Perfection

Feeling the strands, the binding, loosen. Coming undone like a fraying sweater. Beautiful hole. Pulling the dangling string. I escape through. The crimps–an echo, a reminder. Basking in the blushing glow of the ruin of the appearance of a life before. Shameless. Obedient to your desire. Chisel your faces into my memory. I want to wrap these moments about me forever, one beautiful strand at a time.