This is how she sleeps

Posted on January 23, 2008 in DateDyke, poetry | 9 Comments

Gently. With curves of her curled
like ferns nestled in wet moss.
A delicate fingertip like baby’s
breath, like a bluebell, like
a forget-me-not dangling

nearby. I memorized her breath.
The cadence, the rhythm. I
memorized her heartbeats, how
many pulses it took for her to turn
over, ask again in that language

of muscle for my warm thigh, my
open palm, my surrender into
the crook of her arm. She likes
the pillows. She likes the upper
hand where she can wake first,

start the coffee, start the morning.
This is the ritual of sharing a day
from start to finish, and I want to
replace her old red toothbrush, know
her schedule tomorrow, hear her mind

winding down before she – miracle! -
falls asleep in my bed yet again.

9 Comments | Category: DateDyke, poetry |

Comments

9 Responses to “This is how she sleeps”

  1. tongue-tied
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 11:54 am

    very sweet :)

  2. arielariel
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 12:07 pm

    oh shut your mouth. i love it when you remind us you are a great poet.

    if you want comments i have an opinion about that em dash exclamation point but this basically killed me.

  3. green-eyed girl
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 12:52 pm

    That was beautiful. This post struck me as so personal and vulnerable, thank you for sharing it.

  4. jen
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 2:15 pm

    damn. read this three times. this is what every girl wants, someone to write her a poem like this. so vulnerable and soft and open. sigh.

  5. Jan
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 5:47 pm

    Beautiful imagery, Sinclair. It appears that you breathed in your time with Miss DD. Those memories will be with you for a long time.

    Jan

  6. Cuban Genius
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 8:21 pm

    you're a powerful poet. jen is right: this *is* what every girl wants. and i'm so glad it's for my friend. she's worth it. :) you guys are great together.

  7. Shannon
    January 23rd, 2008 @ 8:43 pm

    Sigh… I'm a puddle on the floor and it wasn't even for me. God help the woman.

  8. smalltowndyke
    January 24th, 2008 @ 5:53 am

    WOW this is just great.

  9. Angelique
    January 28th, 2008 @ 3:51 am

    Aw! Me likey~

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