the way things stayed

Note: This is the infamous "sex" poem. I wrote this for my Advanced Poetry writing class during senior year of college, and (surprisingly) quite a few interpreted this poem as being about sex. Not my intention at all--and, to this day, I'm still a little embarrassed.

the moment seemed uncanny,
the way I bit into you
and all the sour-sweet juice ran,
                                             ran
                                                 down

the front of my white t-shirt
while hardness formed in you
and you didn’t—think—

I meant what I said, but
how else could I tell
you about the sand[trap]

how it shrunk and tightened
until even the moon blackened
and left behind a terrible ::echo::

of rain, the dull and weary rain
because the words were always
sugared lemon slices floating, then
                                           sinking

                                           be
                                              low


Written: March 4, 2004