Wanting A Kiss

by Anastasia Placido

Like I'm dying
split down the middle and folding
inside to out
or a poison rattling my veins
and I tremble, I shake, I strain, I flush
I cannot stop
I cannot stop
I need to touch
climbing a wall with fiery fingertips
losing my grip
losing
and you keep fucking with your lips
It's all so absurd
I mumble, I laugh, I shift and fidget
barking mad
a tree in the wind
with human skin
God I want to jump your bones so fast
I might well be a graverobber
or your savior
like your dying

When The Gun Goes Off It Always Surprises You

by Anastasia Placido

Enamored
Not like jade enamel:
Glazed and polished
Amore, love
Lots more than shine
And charmed
Like a snake in a basket
Weaving
Woozy
Spellbound
Cast over like a darkened sky
And awash in air
Insulated, head to chest
A murmuring of the heart
Crack the ribcage
Open up the breast
And let the light beam echo
Unarmored

After His Death

by Anastasia Placido

She smells of smoke again
   It's not just on her clothes
but surrounds her like an aura
            hangs in her hair
she is trying to replace her grief.
    The smoke clouds her emotion
As she inhales vast amounts
                         fills up her lungs
                     attempting to feel anything but
the emptiness.
   She cannot cloud her eyes.

The heaviness is there
and her face sags under hard glances and
     newly forming worry lines
I can see it
  the shift
It hurts to just look at her
    her hugs make me cough
the acrid smell of sorrow makes my eyes water
      But I hold tight.
Squeeze her like a bellows
      and stoke her back to life
I've followed the smoke to the dying flame
  And
I'm not about to watch another one
           go out.

Crossing of Commons

by Anastasia Placido

We are floating through these goodbye days
Bewildered by times' theft
Finding generosity inside ourselves that
we never knew was there
Surprised by how strong these bonds have become
We weren't paying attention when they were forming
We were caught up in the creation.
The elation of molding a memory
a connection
each chain is our collection that we tug around
We only remember its weight when it comes to this:
A stepping off point
a fork-in-the-road
A gigantic
pause
where we deeply inhale the smell
of the exhilarating unknown.

So we say these painful au revoirs
Not forever
just for now
Because we know we will always come back
come back to this
A crossing of commons.
Where we know time stops
and everything else begins.

My Heart Aches

by Anastasia Placido

My heart aches when you’re not around
  Everything is wrong:
My shoulder hurts
  My skin is dry
My room is not how I left it
            and my heart aches in my chest
aches for your smell
   yearns for your laugh
aching, desperate, and sobbing
my heart wants so to beat with yours
  it wants me to caress your cheek
hold your hand and study it’s lines
    It admires the shape of your feet,
the curves of your legs, the sway of your hips,
The strength in your shoulders.
     The color of your lips.

            My hands itch to
memorize every vein, wrinkle, and freckle
  to tickle your skin
my face can’t help the need to rest in the hollow of your neck;
      to nuzzle under your chin.
You are a pool in Florida heat
   And I am so ready to plunge in.
and drown
   You are the warm blanket on a frosty day
that keeps my body warm.
And it’s shocking when you are taken away.
            You are the steel rod in my bones when something breaks.
                        When you are gone, my heart aches.

Hands Together

by Anastasia Placido

When we clasp hands, grip them together
as in prayer
funneling our separate, silent songs
into something that is deeper than
our own separate hands in union could ever create
When we touch hands together
as if
uniting our souls
and we tangle our fingers
waffle and intertwine
like
the hands of God
when first producing a rosebud
Our souls touch
And this meeting sends lightning bolts
Through our arms
So powerful
Zeus would be impressed
Energy cracks and sparks
As this electricity collides
A big bang that explodes into a
Universe of our own
So that we now hold our love in our hands
We applaud this creation
put our hands together in a silent,
brief clap
that doesn't exactly bring the house down
or culminate in an ovation
but reminds us of
the performance we are all
witnessing and taking part of
We touch palms
while not perfect reflections
fit together like two different book covers
different in size
a large hardcover and a small paperback
we pancake together the soft flesh
and wait
for the ribbon to encircle our wrists
and spiral over our hands
together