insistent on sandals
toes freeze
as fall descends
I grasp summer’s
heat, the way it radiates
possibility
pale tepid sun
beckons socks and sweaters –
prophylactics
I wrote a poem
about yearning
tried to pull you into me
like sun on skin
sinking deep in pores
worked to overwhelm
your coyness
you stayed like
a sweater worn casually
for a time then the
armour – wool socks to my
bare, painted toes