Animal Instinct
My
lover has become fascinated by
my
menstrual cycle
I
think because I’m the first woman to
not
hide it from him
I
see no reason to hide it
it’s
the only rhythm
I’ve
ever known
and
I rather like its monthly color
for
him it is a carnal event
he
presses his face in
trying
to detect a change
in
my scent when I ovulate
he
slides his fingers against
the
flesh that swells and drips wet
as
a microscopic egg passes
through
my uterus
he
speaks to the egg throughout its journey
he
cradles my ass with his hands as he
rests
his head against my pubis
a
surprisingly tender gesture
I
meanwhile regress
millennia
of evolution
I
become my prehistoric sister
the
hairy bipedal creature who
knew
only food and hormones
I
crave his teeth on my neck
his
hands
pushing
open
I
lie on the bed
lift
my haunches
wordless
I
have forgotten how to speak English
as
well as the Spanish preterit prefixes
I
expose my red wetness
plump
stained lips
I
claw the sheets
and
press his cock to my forehead so that
I
will smell like his mate
I
open to him
I
growl
“I
am in heat.”
Though I am a feminist
Though
I am a feminist
and
so is your mother
sometimes
I
want it rough
so
much rougher
than
my academic specialties would allow
sometimes
I
want to be tied
or
even gagged
blindfolded
or
called names
you
would never say in public
sometimes
I want to pretend
to
be afraid
as
you remove
and
exhilarate
sometimes
my
dear
I
want you to make me bleed.
Words that begin with L
At
twenty-four I finally
gave it
up to an Englishman
who
buried
himself
deeper than I had ever
been
opened before
he says
I bit
my lip when he drove in
all the
way to the hot root
but I
only remember the parting
of each
lip
each
lobe
each
limb
each
lung as I
gasped
and forgot
that
I’d forgotten to hang
the DO
NOT DISTURB sign on the door
inside me he
pulsed
I,
girlish,
wanted
to tell my Englishman
another
word beginning with ‘L’ but what
came
out was mmmm
and
keep
going
it
hurts but not too much
no not
nearly as bad
it
feels kind of
yes
do not
disturb
when
the blood came out later
he
dipped his fingers into it
cleaned
it from my thighs
and
reminded me that we could see
the
Empire State Building
right
outside our window.
