😈 Beast and Beauty 👩🏻‍🦰

He took me like a mother, drew my head toward himself,

pulled me onto his lap, wrapped his arms around me and cooed into my hair, 

softly as if I was dreaming and he didn't want to wake me.

He sang a song that sounded like birds singing in the sycamore

then tree frogs. I wanted to leave. I stayed where I was.

He wore a lovely shirt. His hair was surprisingly kempt.

There was half a candle piece and a rug of quarters. Tomato soup

on the stove. I thought, "What a shirt." I prayed my breasts

would magically spill from the zipper. 

I wanted to feel my calloused heels

on his thighs. I wanted to linger 'til dawn. His pared nails scratched

an itch that had eluded me for years. I cried as if I were slicing onions

in his kitchen. He was a good mother. 

He held me, like a daughter,

as if I was just as beautiful, as he believed me to be.

Source: Forest Primeval (TriQuarterly Books, 2016)