Behind My Teeth

that lipstick — dark as midnight,

a dare painted across your smile,

and I swear it’s not just color,

it’s a lock I want to break.

I taste it in my mind

before I’ve earned the chance,

the way hunger rattles cages

and claws at ribs for release.

you grin —

hat tilted, eyes hidden,

like you already know

what prison you’ve built in me.

I’m pacing behind my teeth,

tongue pressed against the bars,

waiting for the permission

to bite, to kiss,

to smear that darkness

into something that belongs

to us.