Forgetting Love

I am claimed by the voices of my past

Long since drowned to whispers

Clamoring to reach my deaf

Forgetful ears

In my mind, loving the feminine is

Cold and rich

One too many salt water taffies

The stars ever distant

The gleam of a knife

Pale silk and gold chains

Arctic winds

The green of the flora

It is life

In retribution fragments are stolen

A placeholder for time spent in my aura

And lose me to each other’s calls

In my mind, loving the masculine is

Heavy and cloying

Thick trunks of redwood

Engines growling and whirring

The smell of oil and cinnamon

Silver rings and snake bite piercings

Red wine

The salmon pink of sunset

It is solidity

I feel the possession in my bones

Things I have lost circle my bloodstream

I will never be fully released

In my mind, loving the androgynous is

Unknowable and still

A waveless ocean

The absence of light and sound

The jumble of limbs from falling

Clean linen and strips of leather

Abandoned libraries

The crickets in summer

It is presence

It leaves me trembling at any touch

Old truths flooding the gap

Past to present

I cannot love what I cannot keep