The Coupling

Lazy afternoon beams of sunlight

A clawfoot tub of liquid silk and steam

Tendrils of smoke easing under the door

A cigarette between red swollen lips

Black rivers digging tracks through power and blush

Trying to remember the feeling of lust

A sun-kissed back canvassed with half moons of fingernails and stab wounds

Turned against me

Vulnerable, bruised flesh exposed under the film of lavender oil

To risk it all for your lover's arms

For stolen moments and broken hearts

The validation, the attention

Conditionally provided

Fruit ripe for picking

See me, my darling

For I am yours for the taking.