In this time of remote love

I shall wrap my finger around your wrist,
and lift it gently towards my lips,
politely not asking if you have washed,
for love must not wear too much gauze,
and romance kept at a safe distance
went out with the troubadours.
It’s spring and we are roadkill anyway.
Let’s take the path of least resistance
and fill our desires while we still have them.

Joseph Farley edited Axe Factory from 1986 – 2010. His poetry books and chapbooks include Suckers, Longing for the Mother Tongue, Her Eyes, and Waltz of the Meatballs. His fiction includes a novel, Labor Day, and a short story collection, For the Birds. His work has appeared previously in The Big Windows Review, and recently in Mad Swirl, Ygdrasil, Horror Sleaze Trash, US 1 Worksheets, Home Planet News Online, Wilderness House Review, and Ya’sou!