make the silence be spoken

i.
To uderstand
each other: anything
but that, & to avoid it

I will suspend my search for
germs if you will keep
your fingers off the microfilm
hidden inside my skin

ii.
I approach this love
like a biologist
pulling on my rubber
gloves & white labcoat

You flee from it
like an escaped political
prisoner, and no wonder

iii.
You held out your hand
I took your fingerprints

You asked only for love
I gave you only descriptions

Please die I said
so I can write about it