Nicholas Hogan

i line the needle 
so that it lands
on the lead-in groove 
of that record you keep 
in a padlocked box 
in the center of your heart 
but you bare your chest 
to me and show all 
of the dirty parts 
of your soul 

we sit side by side 
salaciously your smooth 
skin sometimes swipes 
just past the soft side 
of my arm as you 
drown me in a memory 
of the moment the song 
finally made sense				

do you feel it too?
that wind whipping against
your wide open heart
do you feel how the music
moves us together in
the pale moonlight 
making way through
your bedroom window? 

i saw your hands 
seemed less expressive
as you sink into 
superfluous stories 
that only serve 
to sand down 
the time we have 
to find each other 

this nervousness sits
inside, and scrapes 
at your throat to keep
the silence		 	

we dance around
words that spoil 
our true intention 

you know wolves
wait for you there
in the tall grass
of your indecision

so you set your sights
on the end of the song
a simple goal 
but as the decrescendo
does its rounds you
don’t know how 
do sink your teeth
onto sounds that hold
weights, big enough
to crush ourselves
and the rest of 
this crummy little town 

i inch a hand to settle
on the exposed skin
of your thigh, that’s 
moviespeak for 
“it’s on” 
all i do is graze 
the soft flesh of 
your kneecap 
my fingers retract 
reaching back 
to a safe position 
i say sorry without 
seeing how your eyes
pop out with the prospect
of not carrying that weight 

it's getting harder to ignore
the bullet train bulldozing
the barrier to our burning
desire, that train takes
my red face into 
its commanding claws
and turns so that you

and i are face to face
body to body, parallel
on this turning surface 

gravity leads 
your hand to my cheek
as your lips take 
the last leap into 
something more