avatarAlexis Zarco

Summarize

Poetry

Erasure

A poem.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Graze your foot against my leg as we sit in the middle of this coffee house that sprouted after everyone’s rent. Lay your hand on top of mine. Look at how this establishment sits right in between two local shops that have been here since the beginning and are now two rusted chains. Press your hip against mine as the mugs at other tables clink together in a toast, breadcrumbs kissing the floor. Walk me back to my apartment building and towards the back door. As you lean into me I can feel my back press into the old wooden frame. The door hinges creak but I don’t really notice. The old botanica pretends to smell like sage but it’s just dog shit littering the perimeter. Follow me to the new gas station with electric charging, walk past the homeless man asking for spare change and hold my hand. This is the fire escape to an abandoned building, lucky that the arsonist neglected to find it. Climb in through the broken window and put your hands on my waist, press your chest against my chest, place your head on top of my head. Let’s go to the new vegan restaurant and sit next to me as we watch our confused neighbors ask about the little green V next to everything on the menu. Press your thigh against mine. Take me away from all of this with your touch, stop me from thinking. Don’t let me look at the myriad of new foreign faces that show up after the moving truck does. I could go on and on about that unless you press your arm against me.

This poem was stylistically inspired by the poetry collection title Anybody: Poems by Ari Banias.

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