AGAIN

CALIFORNIA TAYLOR GINIECZKI

Two twin mountains of muscle Line the length of your spine: borders along the length of I-5, Taking me home from southern heat To northern forests filled with your Open-mouthed laughter. The sound Trickles down your jaw and dissolves between your lips, Where a shy smile greets me — At first Mojave-dry before cracking Crooked from corner to corner and Warming every row of the sunlit cypress grove That you set aglow As I come back home. Our golden state, Your golden eyes, My heart that beats for the heat of beach sands And the heat of your hands Lifting me toward the sun.