As if these sleeves are cooled
and that slow roll
you’re still not used to
left one arm in the open
struggling, almost holds on –the tattoo
helps, smells from flowers
kept cold though it’s an old shirt
given your bare skin
for its years, months, minutes
and the exact place held close
licking the ice from your shoulders
your breasts and the flowers.
Simon Perchik is an attorney whose poetry has appeared in Partisan Review, The Nation, The New Yorker and elsewhere. His latest book is titled “Family of Man” (Cholla Needles Library 2021).