Beyond the Tongue
Words will do nothing
for us now.
They are only breath and sound
turned to shape
dissipating upon release.
There is only my being
and all that I know up to this moment.
I cannot leave you with an alphabet of memories.
Our time,
more than composition,
felt rather than read.
The feel of my skin tracing
across the beauty mark triangle
on your arm
past your outer shell
to the makings of your mind.
A constant changing flow
of depth and direction.
The rhythm of my heart
abstract and Dali-like.
Misshapen by time
but loved by you
in all its imperfection
reminding me I exist.
If these are my last
then let me be swallowed,
taken back from where I came
into native soil
and you, my invisible tattoo,
will root and together we will grow
once again, out of the ruin.
Tess Perez lives in Sacramento, CA. She is an editor for From Sac Magazine, an occasional copy editor for Jacasseur Artist Collective/The Black Rabbit Magazine and published her first book in early 2014, a collaborative project with several other artists, called Pieces. She earned an MA in Creative Writing from Sacramento State and is currently working on her next writing project. Check out her blog http://www.tessperezblog.wordpress.com/ and follow her on Instagram @tp_wildwonder.
