Poems for People Who Don't Like Poetry #12

remember your lovers
but, especially, don't forget them while they are in your bedroom
with their hair disheveled and their clothes strewn
make sure you notice them as they stand before you
as there they lie
tell them that you're touched a thousand times
of every inch take a picture with your unabashed eye
because this will change, as pictures change, so love does die

smell your lovers, their wide-open skin
like bare shoulders, before toast, in the morning
pheromones will be what you don't know you miss
when you're standing beside x's
feeling suddenly nostalgic
could be soap, could be freshly-washed clothes
most likely it's the mix of hidden chemicals
the silent scent
that perfumers will never get
but you will remember it
long after love goes

hold your lovers close
as you are drifting off, sharing oxygen and oxytocin both
memorize the napes of their necks, the crooks of their wrists, the way their breathing rises and falls
knees get cuddled only in one kind of spot
and they will miss this once the spoon is gone
like you will miss the puzzle when you don't get to be a part
and, so, while you are
with your limbs entangled in ways that warm your heart
remember to notice it
so that the last night doesn't go by without you noticing
and suddenly it's over and only in the sunshine do you know these things
while you pine for one more chance to lay with your loved one when night is falling
so hold your lovers close while you're in their company

this is a plea, mostly for me, so I may remember next time I am a puzzle piece
as well, for the lovers I have had and known
who have been my comforts
and also my abrasions
I have daydreamed about the days when we were first mating
and of the love we made then
like we were scorched earth and it was raining

- Tanya Davis, Ravish your Lover While You Still Love Her

(My god, this one takes my breath away.)