SHIR LOVETT-GRAFF

SPECIMEN

I finished her story,

two erotic pages to pin her

exactly where I liked.

I wanted her waiting for me

after, open and glowing.

This gift was an exception.

I had stopped giving out pages

to lovers, stopped clasping fireflies

in jars too small to hold them,

stopped writing poetry with

names in them, stopped

smoothing wings against

the page until they stuck.

I stacked each pleasure

on paper the only way I knew

how: mounted and clean.

When I handed her the pages,

I trembled with desire

which would, as always

peel off and leave me

for air outside the jar.

Shir Lovett-Graff is a poet and community organizer originally from New Haven, CT. They recently graduated with their masters in religion, ethics and politics from Harvard Divinity School. You can read more of their work at shirlovettgraff.com