the steps

the steps
Originally uploaded by zavodk.

I let my feet graze the sidewalk bare
amongst the hidden & watchful hedge
felt your hand press upon my own, your pulled pockets worn teeth parting in the darkness
with insistence in the tangle of my hair
my feet stradling the stone,
keeping time with your rising breath
your thighs and my shoulders meeting, rocking

a train howling in the distance
marking the time of your late departure
when you'd rise like the kettle's call
& leave my feet and mouth to know this earth well
your evening ritual
where later I worked out a whole poem,
one of a scrap, a meal, a push
your broken nails & chipped teeth
that you did claim on my body