Liz Afton
Survival Instructions for Weirdos in Love
Don’t knock
that sausage noggin,
studmuffintops,
handle for every hand.
Gather flatways:
electric knee sockets
amidst a rift of coverings.
The bed will pocket us
easy as a shoplifter, coy.
If your nose sings
á la lonely coyote,
coax it back
to a still black mouth.
You’ll know to go
when everything pandafies,
all bandit and cuddle.
Then: meet in the middle.
Unloose your husk
& lick a new skin into life,
braying. Whatever gets left
behind, stays.
How else outlast
this ring of melting while
other places store up snow?
The dogs tremble
in their warm corner,
one swallows her yip
in a dream of running.