the alchemy of us
(after e.e. cummings)

what is it about you and I

the chemistry that we do

exponential scratches on a page, not

unknowable, but a perspective only we know.

an alchemy of what

you are, what we are, what it

is,

skin inked with equations about

cellular reactions within me, within you

combustion that

awakens the us, and also closes

what would you say if I told you that I dream of you and

in those dreams your smile opens

me, lays me bare, not only

removing my clothing but something

entirely more, you see written deep in me

a language engraved on my bones that your mouth understands

you read in my entrails the

gospel of my voice

you steal my breath and use it as your

own, hold a magnifying glass to my eyes

and inside the retina behold all that is,

all that was, and you tell me that this dream is

a holy offering of water from a well deeper

than the blood that pours from our joined veins, and redder than

the petals of a thousand roses

***

Dane Lyn is a nuerodivergent, genderqueer, disabled, educator, poet, and glitter enthusiast with an MFA from Lindenwood University. Find them in L.A. with their partner, constructing blanket forts, caring for their menagerie of teens, snakes, lizards, dogs, rabbits, and cats, and ridding their shoes of beach sand. Dane’s work can be seen in Quillkeepers, Gnashing Teeth, Gutslut, and Imposter. They are on social media @punkhippypoet.