We Were Too Reckless With Our Hearts
by Michelle Dominique

I swear to God
you are Cupid’s son 

I have a stone rattling around in my heart
and my body aches for you.

All I want is to stomp (ram) my
feet into the dirty Earth.

You saw me as a butterfly
in the cool rain
my wings pulled apart by the drops
and frozen by the snow. 

There are fireworks on the ground
I feel the fire, but I don’t see it falling.

You broke us. 

We were too reckless with our hearts that summer
because all we wanted was to be held.

In our final phases
you promised me that things would stay the same. 

I loved us chest to back.
When I was ironing your shirt
Or leaning against the dusty car.

I loved my arms around your neck
Front to back
and back to chest.

Sleeping in the bed where we never made love
on dark days
your leg hooked around my waste. 

I am yearning.

6 hours with you, and my bones are falling apart.
6 hours with you and my eyes are electronic. 

Nobody else feels the same to me.

I am bursting from my joints.
I can feel my muscles shake. 

The string that connected our souls has snapped.
And all I can do is run my fingers through the
air that was once you.

Preludes
by Michelle Dominique

Before the confession—
Before the sun bowed in recession
to the lethargic black clouds spreading
like melting ice
between the tall oak trees.

Before the room was reflected
against the glass pane
and through the imprint of the figure
on the window
and before you explained
that its origin was unknown. 

Before softly
I blew the dust from the books
on the shelf
and held the stone heart–heavy in my hand–
cold against my chest.

Before I discovered the scent of the red pillow
where I could feel you linger
curled in the corner like a small child. 

Before the surrender—

The nervous movement toward the truth.
The acknowledgment of reality, 

Before the pulling close and
the synchronized breathing.

Before the wetness of your rough cheek
against my neck.
Before your tears that trailed and teased my collar bone
and cooled my hands.

Before the connection