sometimes
when i'm alone
i'll look at my naked body
and wonder if you see me like this,
too.
and if you've counted my face's worth of freckles
the gold in my eyes,
in the sun.
the two mole islands on
my left breast,
have you taken the time to explore them?
my soft belly,
and soft legs,
and shy hands,
or the words i've collected in my brain
for later,
our most tender moments.
and do you liken me to a fox?
a deer?
have you studied the slow rise
and fall
of the curve
of my hip?
what is it to be a woman?
how do you see me?

when my eyes flutter
in my sleep
or my lips slightly parted
or my eyes cinched to slits
for poems
do you like my voice when i read outloud?
or the way i laugh
only with you?
have you noticed all the scars on my knees?
and the bruises on my arms?
why don't you ask questions
about my summers?

do you liken me to a dream?
i see myself
a siren
on the beach
don't you get it, yet?

sometimes
i feel like i'm hiding

where are you
to unfold me?