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Conception of Love

Conception of Love

                                          for Leslie Winer
Remember 
when we 
were younger
When
it was 
acceptable 
to lie down 
on the sidewalk
Our cheeks 
                      pressed against 
the melting 
                       summer cement
                                                       
The 
scent 
of 
chrysanthemums
and 
honeysuckle
clinging 
to our clothes

Anxiety 
of deadlines 
nowhere 
to be found
Until 
the sun set 
signals
our curfew

Slowly 
walking home
Holding 
dirty hands 
clutching
sweaty palms
Trying                     to extend                  the magic hour
Another, Essex St., 1983, photograph by Philip Pocock
Another, Essex St., 1983, photograph by Philip Pocock

Holes
in jeans
and
skinned
knees
Band-aids worn
like badges
Embracing
our crutches
Crying
just because

Death
a stranger
we weren’t
allowed
to speak to

Those
moments
when
my eyes
would catch
your eyes
Lingering
Wondering
Who
would be
the first
to laugh

The edges of
your smile
begun to rise
And
I knew
I knew
that you
could hear
this heart
beating
through my cheek
as it melted
the summer sidewalk

-Tate Swindel


Photographs Poetry

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