out loud: 1/20/07
we could be gold, i think, but silence
is what i say out loud.

& i feel my face grow hot as i turn
away from you & your halfway smile,
but i know blushing is just a heart
supplying its cheeks with extra blood
but i don’t say this either.

& i’m so nervous & my insides are
shakeshaking all over the place like
a cheap tambourine, & i bet you’re
shakeshaking too but you’re probably
too one-track-minded for nervousness
anyway.

& i can’t hide this hint of a smile as
i wonder what your heartbeat sounds
like from the inside of your body &
think of all the bones that are listening
in, listening in on what i’m hearing now.