It’s neither
red nor sweet.
It doesn’t melt
or turn over,
break or harden,
so it can’t
feel pain,
yearning,
regret.
It doesn’t have
a tip to spin on,
it isn’t even shapely—
just a thick
clutch of muscle,
lopsided, mute.
Still, I feel it inside
its cage sounding
a dull tattoo:
I want, I want—
but I can’t open it:
there’s no key.
I can’t wear it
on my sleeve,
or tell you from the
bottom of it how I feel.
Here, it’s all yours, now—
but you’ll have to take me, too.