Tonight's Poet Corner: Sonnet Solstice #374

Here We Are

by Belinda Roddie

Here we are, in a darkened hotel room,

our arms around each other like the coils

of the mattress beneath us. Through the gloom

of another smoky night, we are foils

to one another, contrasts in the sparse

light, contradictory in every way -

from our height to our eyes to just how harsh

my voice grates and how soft the words you say

are. Coarse paired with rough isn't quite as smooth

as one might hope, and yet, you hold me still,

your palms flat on my shoulders as the roof

above us rumbles, and the window sill

shakes from the nearby train that rumbles by.

We'll stay here 'til tomorrow, you and I.