Leech

By

I am interested in exploring memory through the aesthetics of the human body and sexuality.

2020

Poem

Full Text:

Leech

There was no traffic on the way up.
It looked like it might rain but the sky cleared.
I thought myself lucky.

The lake looked white from the highway. Then blue
when you pulled into the gravel parking lot. I opened the door,
running, before the car could shudder into its space.

My red swimsuit disappeared beneath the water,
greener than before and deep
enough to submerge myself ten times over.

I ate a melting popsicle on the shore.
The liquid dripped onto my thigh
while you practiced your backstroke.

The bite was shaped like an asterisk.
I found it there, on the inside.
The blood with the cherry syrup.

Like a half-assed apology.
I knew better than to believe you
when you said it wouldn’t scar.