TENDERLY - AMELIA MACAPIA

Tenderly

By Amelia Macapia

I did not ask for the elegiac lament Of amorous longings or immutable learnings For who am I to know the contours and claws tearing the comforter, Dizzy dancing dissolves my breath I lean into the balcony’s edge Rocked by your fables Tenderly, tenderly.

The remorse of Aeneas’ oath, sickly sweet Shared bath towels bloom in hooked corners Chamomile and sacrament I hear the sentiment You said you meant— You said you meant—

Amidst cologne pillows I drowse in cumulus restlessness Unspeaking kisses in unmade bedrooms Silent movie dreams chain ivory to horn Lovingly, lovingly.

Dido, storm-tossed, cradles me I lean into the balcony’s edge, tremblingly Ensnared in judicial judgments Have I come too late? And who am I to adjudicate I heard the claws ring on kitchen tile-ways.

I woke and went for a walk Past the stadium lights Past the moon waxing warm Past the little alabaster statues Past a lost journal found Past broken bridges, roadblocks This sign means stop Only why don’t you know, why don’t you?