when we get lost in the woods after dark & i seek solace in your arms

my skin is wilted,
bruised peach tender.

i let swarms of bees
taste the nectar inside

my mouth. it’s bitter
on your tongue, sweet

to the ghost of me.
i wrap my thighs

in sun baked leaves,
sweat out the poison

of body shame, fatphobia.
i spit honey like venom,

erase myself repeatedly.
birds flock to the mountain

peaks i’ve created,
stacked miles high in

discarded bones.
you laugh when i’m

mean, avert your eyes,
maybe suck your teeth,

before lolling your head
to one side, limp and full

of regrets. my skin is no
more mine than yours

but it feels like a path
carved out of public

land, walked on for miles,
while we dance in the dark.

By Caseyrenée Lopez

Caseyrenée Lopez is a non-binary queerfemme atheist. They edit Crab Fat Magazine, TQ Review & Damaged Goods Press in an effort to platform marginalized writers/artists, particularly queer and trans folks. Their debut full-length collection, i was born dead, is forthcoming from ELJ publications in 2018. Follow them on Twitter @caseyreneelopez.