there is somewhere a permanent sadness and tonight we are sharing it; tonight i am discovering it in you, too. we are soldiers too sad to be alive. i reach for you and your loneliness obliges me; i close my eyes to get a feel for where your particular sadness hides.
after a moment i can sense it: there behind your hip bones; in the smooth underbelly of your breasts; in the ragged pink verses writ upon the insides of your thighs. it’s in the way your legs shake, not from pleasure but from fear. i want to shield you from everything you’ve ever known.
if impulse control didn’t exist i’m sure i’d devour you whole: part desire, part protection. mostly i just want to keep you safe, but to god i’m still the cobbler trying desperately to tie his own shoes. i’m not sure i’ll ever get us out of this.
ABOUT
Rose McCoy is a poet from West Virginia who frequently writes about love, grief, and mental illness. Her first chapbook, Sink or Swim: Reflections on an Ending, was published through Bottlecap Press in 2023, and she anticipates many more to come. More of her work can be found on Twitter or her website.
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