Snake

Poem

I can feel your breath on the back of my neck
Warm puffs of air hitting the space above my collarbone
But it’s kind of crazy how I can feel so alone
Even as your chest presses against my back
Your left arm slung around my left side
Your hand resting where my legs collide
While my mind escapes to somewhere else
Thoughts detached from our bodies entwined
Our apparent symmetry is so misaligned
Your earthly form, so present to my senses
But your soul is not, even when you are awake
Your leg curls around mine like a snake
And there’s a tiny bit of terror on the inside
As we keep our distance here in the dark
That tiny space of the mere atoms between us
Isn’t the only thing that keeps us apart

more by SIOBAHN HOTALING

photograph by David Olkarny

The Writers Manifesto