here (belong)

here (belong)

I'm having trouble inside my skin
I tried to keep my skeletons in

“Slipped,” The National

Those barricades can only hold for so long
“Belong,” R.E.M.

Definitiva como un mármol

entristecerá tu ausencia otra tardes.

“Despedida,” Jorge Luis Borges

i’m not here

you think you see me

you think you hear me

but i am not here

she is sitting at her desk at work

legs crossed and wearing platform shoes

open-toed bone-colored straps winding around and above the ankles

a simple bone-colored skirt

and a short-sleeved turquoise top

with lavender stripes so thin almost no one notices them

and there on the floor beside her foot

you can find me ever-poised and heartfelt

committed fully to kissing that ankle solid and sad as marble

she closes her eyes just briefly

at the touch of my lips against her cool skin

and imagines slipping to the floor and never again walking away

i’m not here

you think you see me

you think you hear me

but i am not here

although i understand the allure of the corporeal

i am in the only place i can be

i am in the only place i belong