how to get over ["when the poem flirts..."]
for those of us who can’t quite quit her
when the poem flirts
similes hugging her thighs
like a tight skirt: consider
the possibilities.
if the poem follows
you home, whiskey
pickling her tongue:
make her coffee, black.
if the poem arrives
dressed as metaphor,
begging for candy: trick
or retreat till the mask falls.
should the poem slink
outta panties, stand
naked demanding touch:
finger her lines
till her stanzas beg
for an encore: come
again, explore, imagine odd
positions of sweet revision.
and whenever she whispers,
stop: listen and leave her be.
Copyright Credit: t’ai freedom ford, "how to get over [pg 73]" from how to get over. Copyright © 2017 by t’ai freedom ford. Reprinted by permission of Red Hen Press.
Source: how to get over (Red Hen Press, 2017)