Melting into the floor... Did I hear the buzzer beep Did I die along the way? Purple. Blue. Ga--sping. Now all of them, And this whole room Beyond the ridge Of your collarbone Comes back to view. The sunlight Pouring in the bay door Of this converted warehouse; Like a belly Bursting out the button Of pants one size Too small-- I see again, But only through The sting of salt. Did the cloth of your shirt Cling to your skin Even though It was a sundress on you Any other day The same as mine? Gurgle Gurgle Gurgle Until the bubbles stopped And you realized You were tasting oxygen again And not the sweat Rolling into your nostrils From my soaked shoulders. I want to know-- Could you feel My right arm Reach around your neck Like a guillotine blade Going in reverse? As I tried to stop your breathing I want to know If you heard inside my head "I have no mouth, And I must scream." If you could--catch The ghost  Mutter to the shell, "It doesn't matter" At my dislocated left pinky While it crawled behind your skull Like a spider with a broken leg Descending Ghostly, ghastly--elegantly Heavenly Unto its web-- A latch to seal the lock. In that moment Was your mind a cushion For a litany of pins and needles As I held you close As I hung onto you Like a grade school backpack You tightened the straps all the way on, And waited For your breath To become air?