if you’re hearing this, it’s ’cause i trust you. there’s a lot of detail, high resolution scans.

i take an early flight. nothing good is easy. what am i forgetting? chocolate orange peels.

i program on the airplane to distract from humming in my eardrums; an engine whirring to life in my chest.

she applies the night before risks her body just for more. she knows she has to see it before i remember my face.

jetway’s made of glass, eyes have steel blades. what am i forgetting? 54-inch red shoelace.

“do you want to get the fuck out of this airport?” she picks up both bags before i can say a word.

she borrows a tapedeck. i hold her knee. is this ok? the postal service can’t ship this in a flat rate box.

distance desires ritual we find a matchbook what am i forgetting? ashen coffee. burning.

the next thing i know we’re at the terminal. lipstick can stain more than cardboard cups

time stopped in total: 14 hours, 28 minutes

you outfit us in leather armor tie boots tight as heartstrings we dance and breathe as one enter prisms — offset blinking

underground, understand a halo grip my thighs below your wings breathe — you ask “you ready?” to leave, to ride, to fly. of course.

don’t look down & don’t let go become part of a red machine: a bell, a backpack, a balance gripping tightly, holding loosely

i am not afraid to ride with you to glide across rock and sound my pilot is divine, invincible even molded contours promise safety

as we swerve, we synchronize we’re on an island, smiling wide small compared to a lighthouse even smaller against your frame

my sister thought she could fall along the same route we travel but i know i fell for you already ache is just what flight feels like