a shot of novacaine
in
my sputtering heart
to ease
the palpable
palpitations
from your smile

you folded me
into
a crane
with your gentle words
how i tried to soar
with
brittle wings
bent into
incongruent shapes
held
in shaking desire
to maintain your
sparkling gaze

i am the crane
on broken talons
you are the goddess
that shapes
the feeble meat

a shot of novacaine
in
my weak and stuttering heart
so your smile
doesn’t
break me into bits