Tangerine

Today is a tangerine

I am peeling slowly

placing each section in my mouth

to savor it there, letting

the sweet juice run

till it bites lips and tongue

Today is a song played

in a forgotten room

where we dance in slow circles

eyes closed growing dizzy

falling together, falling apart

touch and breath and beating heart

Today is a lover’s touch

softly given and then gone

sleight of hand and trickster’s fun

that quick sharp ache

wild taste on the tongue

citrus-tang and wine-spun

Today is a thousand years

a moment flown from memory

I take it piece by bitten piece

skin and scent and hair unspooled

rind and peel and seed, oh

sweet, oh shameless tangerine

Thank you for reading! For this and other poems, see my book, Migrations: A Map of the Human Spirit.