Grappling
for EJ
the shared gaze had always been
falling on avatars,
–
but we are
young and naked
because guys get changed together.
–
so, unleashed, following eyes,
limbs forming fluid knots sliding
through our own creases,
–
long and smooth like Medusa’s
dancing hairs
–
giggling into submissive, one had to finish
atop, and as if remote
controlled, with a chin sitting
where balding will begin
and hips fit in each other like legos,
–
the pinned boy’s yelp was the bell
to resheathe from knees to breasts
bodies going unrubbed til hormones
harden into stubborn bone.
–
Alex Wells Shapiro is a poet and artist from New York, living in Chicago. He received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2017. A former athlete, much of Alex’s work physicalizes interpersonal and environmental relationships. He has recently published work in NUNUM, Storm Cellar, unstamatic, and Genre: Urban Arts. More of his work may be found at www.alexwellsshapiro.com.
© Alex Wells Shapiro
Photo Credit: © yuravector / Adobe Stock