Kindling

reading from screens
will spell the end
to these affairs
the heart’s skipped beats
beneath paper
roofs that woo with
inky perfumes

remember when
the words made you
stop reading and
you spread the book
on your breast and
secured the spine
beneath your chin

it was too much
too much to bear
so you held up
your finger to
your lover’s lips
your not-quite touch
bidding them hush