I tasted my lips
all the way home,
drawing them
into my mouth, one
at a time, scraping
my teeth across them,
saving your tiny kiss,
thinking about how foolish
I must seem,
finding any excuse to see you,
to be near you

And I'm humming "Suzanne,"
the part where she shows you where to look,
among the
garbage and the flowers.
I've been wanting to kiss you for days
and I tasted my lips all the way home.

Serene is a San Francisco Bay Area poet and editor, whose goal it is to never again have to get dressed for work. So far, so good. Her work has appeared in literary journals in the United States and Canada.