tacolox

 

san antonio chicana
and a jew from detroit
tortillas & bagels
bubbeleh y mi corazón

let none call us partners
this is not a law firm
what we are is lovers
of the four-breasted sort

remember our first date
which was also our first time
and went down in history
as our anniversary

your place after work
toidy-toid &toid
were we new yorkers or what
we'd order chinese food

we never ate. we talked
i don't recall of what
i remember it grew awkward
as the hours rolled along

i shocked myself
even more than you
when at last i made
my bold, reckless move

climbed onto your lap
said 'enough is enough'
started the kissing
you clearly approved

clothes came off quickly
we slid from sofa to bed
i've waited my whole life
for this, you said

i had too
i had too
although i had been with
more women than you

stop. start again
too literal too fast
it leaves out too much
like the taste of your mouth

& your smell, silken skin
& your touch,
hesitant & insistent at once
& your eyes, first startled

then determined, intense
& your heat, which surprised me
& gave the night although autumn
an aura of spring

with its openings beginnings
seedpods fledglings
bulbs buds blossoms
lick-thin translucent leaves

the whole gossamer fleeting business
a turning deepening
hope & pledge
fragile yet tangible

as your hand squeezing mine
a bursting to become
flocks in flight thundering herds
torrent surging past dam

our love began like that
delicate as nestling wren: took wing
unstoppable as elephants: stomped
overflowing as water: overwhelmed weir

and has stayed so, renewing
15 years an endless summer thing
we the tender-tipped touch-thirsting
blushing lusty teens

belting she-sex corridos of taco-lox romance
lilting corny lyrics from broadway shows
flaunting spanish yiddish english forever words
amor y mazel &destiny

 

--Shelley Ettinger

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