Who knows what love is?
Has anyone seen it lately?
…
A strange insect of twenty one legs and fourteen mouths
cecum to the gut
dead drunk
in constant rehab
…
If you were fruit
you would have the skin of a peach
and the flesh of a pomegranate
but the taste of a mango
if you were an animal you would have a tiger’s head
and a tiger’s body
right down to a tiger’s tail
but don’t be confused
you are not a tiger
…
Love’s derailed tongue
licking the wounds
made with its own claws
today you have stayed asleep
or perhaps hidden tired of battling
…
You are not under the bed
nor behind the pictures or in the dirty laundry
I have also searched inside the recycling bag
and in the refrigerator without any luck
…
Out there somewhere
you will be sleeping off your hangover
it is not a suspicion or a hope
is that your smell is not gone
do not fool me
I smell your insides oxidizing
and the freshness of your lips
I know you are still here
lurking and smiling
waiting for me to drop my guard
to go right for the jugular.
© Adrián Arias
Trans: Nina Serrano
original poem in Spanish here
Digital image by Adrián
