Apocryphal Lover

Apocryphal Lover

By Jax Soon-Legaspi

Saltwater and rattlesnake hisses

Aching in my mouth between the shape of your name

No roots, no predecessors, no dead languages bearing marks of you

Tracing my jaw with one hand, my undoing cascades silently and sinfully tamed.

Ribcage and clay in the other. My head against your chest and you are singing the song of creation.

Inhale, exhale, I watch as you breathe life into yourself—

Xenomelodic love.