bass on the boardwalk

you came into my arms 
all braids and cheeks and eyes
leaping your tequila tongue 
straight into my brain
there’s an entire hemisphere 
etched on the roof of your mouth
I thought I found a map
when we shuffled along the boardwalk
beneath gulls bright as stars

but how do we navigate by the light
of a star that flaps away
when crusts are proffered
oh my jersey shore
you’ve taken me again
casino limelights
plastered across the surf

I’m fifteen hemispheres away
incubating until the bass drops
so heavy thoughts rip from my skull
shattering chains and foundations
earth in its orbit
the ever treble loneliness
giving birth to desire and pain
men and women unable to distance