Tonight's Poet Corner: Scratching Her Back

Scratching Her Back
by Belinda Roddie

The fingernails chafing the skin
just right, every bump, groove, and
crease on a pinkish brown valley
twitching in waves when the itch is sated.
The kisses lingering on the raw, tender
target, the bulls-eye buried beneath
layer upon layer of cutaneous tissue,
chalky and warm from all the scraping.
She says I made a valiant effort to
soothe her, and for now, it's the only
imaginary medal I can wear, as she pulls
her shirt back down across her shoulders,
settles into her computer chair,
and turns her eyes away.

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