Living Room Love Poem
Jessica Siobhan Frank
I love
how you make
me feel
wanted,
a sliver of attention
from your
spotlight eyes
beaming on to me,
the intensity of your gaze
flushes my cheeks
until I just can’t look anymore—
insecurities
left over from tiny
atrocities neglected
and collected and hardened
over time.
I wait for you to take it all back,
to say no thanks
but have a good day,
and you haven’t yet,
and this breath
is tight
in my chest—
I’m considering letting it go—
an exploratory exhaling
slow,
coaxed,
careful as you love me openly,
my lungs relieved
as you hold your arms out to me.
I settle into your safety,
the oasis of acceptance
in the pillow of your pectoral muscle,
my anxious hand
stilled
under your clavicle,
your free hand in my long hair,
champagne strands
like desperate tentacles
braided together by fear.
I am untangled by you.
You watch me surface
and soften
with each deep breath.