The Lovers

By Taly Nudelman

hold me where I can’t see your arms
they have fled the frame and I
decided already I was going to trust fall

maybe when I feel my feet give out
the small of my back will suddenly grow
warm against the palm
of your hand
or
my body will catch itself
with the whipping back of a foot
and
the crack of a heel that
so desperately needed a break

don’t break your empty gaze

gather the skin on my face
and weave it into white linen
stitch it thickly
so that I no longer see

my dress and your suit
the only things that make coarse
the space between us

weave it with a softness that
dissolves my face
into the gray sky behind you

and to secure the end
pull it tight around your neck.