|
|
|
Classic and Contemporary Poetry
WINTER, by TIMOTHY LIU Poet Analysis Poet's Biography
First Line: How long will the bed that we made together
Subject(s): Gay Men; Relationships
First Line: How long will the bed that we made together
Subject(s): Gay Men; Relationships
How long will the bed that we made together
hold us there? Your stubbled cheeks grazed my skin
from evening to dawn, a cloud of scattered
particles now, islands of shaving foam
slowly spiraling down the drain, blood drops
stippling the water pink as I kiss
the back of your neck, our faces framed inside
a medicine cabinet mirror. The blade
of your hand carves a portal out of steam,
the two of us like boys behind frosted glass
who wave goodbye while a car shoves off
into winter. All that went unnoticed
till now -- empty cups of coffee stacked up
in the sink, the neighborhood kids
up to their necks in mounds of autumn leaves.
How months on a kitchen calendar drop
like frozen flies, the flu season at its peak
followed by a train of magic-markered
xxx's -- nights we'd spend apart. Death must work
that way, a string of long distance calls
that only gets through to the sound of your voice
on our machine, my heart's mute confession
screened out. How long before we turn away
from flowers altogether, your blind hand
reaching past our bedridden shoulders
to hit that digital alarm at delayed
intervals -- till you shut it off completely.
Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
AMERICAN WEDDING by ESSEX HEMPHILL
PUNK HALF PANTHER by JUAN FELIPE HERRERA
LET US GATHER IN A FLOURISHING WAY by JUAN FELIPE HERRERA
THE DIFFERENCE by RICHARD HOWARD
THE ADVANCE OF THE FATHER by FANNY HOWE