First Poem for You
POEM VIEWS: 14054
Kim Addonizio (1954—) was born Kim Addie, but changed her name at seventeen when she discovered that her paternal grandparents had shortened their . . . MORE »
Kim Addonizio (1954—) was born Kim Addie, but changed her name at seventeen when she discovered that her paternal grandparents had shortened their . . . MORE »
By Kim Addonizio
I like to touch your tattoos in complete
darkness, when I can’t see them. I’m sure of
where they are, know by heart the neat
lines of lightning pulsing just above
your nipple, can find, as if by instinct, the blue
swirls of water on your shoulder where a serpent
twists, facing a dragon. When I pull you
to me, taking you until we’re spent
and quiet on the sheets, I love to kiss
the pictures in your skin. They’ll last until
you’re seared to ashes; whatever persists
or turns to pain between us, they will still
be there. Such permanence is terrifying.
So I touch them in the dark; but touch them, trying.
Kim Addonizio, “First Poem For You” from The Philosopher’s Club. Copyright © 1994 by Kim Addonizio. Used by permission of BOA Editions, Ltd, www.boaeditions.org.