Bitter Clarity

Photo by Jenni Peterson on Unsplash

I want to taste this desire
on my tongue,
taking big gulps of all
you have for me and it’s there —
I’m keenly aware —
staring back at me
as if Innocence is the last straw
to bask in the refreshing drops
of sweet delight at night
as if you separate
me
—
from the day
so that I might rest
with dreams
more complicated than they seem
stretched out before me
with an unfamiliar clarity
I have trouble recognizing as my own.