THE LINE

Art by Christina Gutierrez (2022 archive)

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I'll walk the line of caring and not: 

           tongue-in-cheek versus 

           running my tongue against your cheek

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I'm too scared for one and too 

clumsy for the other so

that leaves 

verses:

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scrawled on the soft part of the wrist that only you can see

scratched on the tongue of an alleyway sneaker, 

           (lips and toes curled) 

scraped from the back of the throat, sour-sweet like 

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             jam: lid-licked and kissed pink like 

             jam: lip-licked and stolen from your cupboard, like

             jam: still sticking your fingers into my subconscious

                       and only ever 

                       what I will never have 

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