Liquid
Rent from DeepDyve- Liquid
The men of Cambridge jogshirtless this morning
like it’s normal to be beautifuland looked at. Un-secreted
from coats but not-yet-tan,their meaty chests weave
among overdressed pedestrians.I’m suddenly shy
when the young guywith plum nipples, liquid
shoulders taps my shoulder:You dropped this—a post-it
I wrote on, between his fingerand thumb. Coffee in my one hand
and a bag in the other, he pushesthe note deep in my shirt pocket—
his knuckles to my nipple like theywere always supposed to be there. [End Page 73]
So it doesn’t fall out again,he grins. He winks, palms
my shoulder like a fatheror boyfriend—he knows that
he knows how to dissolve me—I better catch up with my girlfriend.
The gesture raw, exposedas the hair on his flat, damp belly,
as the phone shoved in his shortsagainst his hipbone. [End Page 74]
Aaron Smith is the author of two books of poetry, both published by the Pitt Poetry Series: Appetite, a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize and an npr Best Book, and Blue on Blue Ground, winner of the Agnes Lynch Starrett Prize. His chapbooks are Men in Groups and What’s Required, winner of the Frank O’Hara Prize. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Ploughshares and The Best American Poetry 2013. He is an assistant professor in creative writing at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
