November 7, 2009It Is Fair to Say There Are Some Lovers Who Never LeaveNatasha Kochicheril Moni

though they may            leave             you,

travel             over       one       hundred

miles,       they’ve never

left       They always have             kinked

hair, leave

behind coils:             DNA hooking into your satin

pillow            slip       a thousand codes hidden

in seven strands

In your dreams       they appear as       Christ       bringing

the lost       grazers      home

the goats       raise hooves       press

along       your paraspinals       express urgency

for play                   They never tell

you       where they’ve       been       or how long they spent       behind

bars                  Forever

thirty-three       or thirty-two       they slip      in

as though for waffles       coffee       They’ve been       around

the corner all       a      long

You slept       and they continued             to rise

They touch

you       and       you

remember       how well       chocolate      melts

in the bath of Mary