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universal solvent
by Sara Beth Chavanne
your eyes are mercury
your eyes slip tight around my body
brilliant, poisonous
they terrify me when you say my name in the humid darkness
sweetheart.
your face is silver
your face shines with white shadows
tarnished, glinting
i shake my head when you kiss me, dread wells in my belly like arousal
stop it.
your words are copper
your words coil on their own ferocity
conductive, malleable
they burn into me, i cry out and shake like a dying thing as you beg
i’m sorry.
your hands are iron
your hands harden over mine
heated, implacable
i weep as you crawl into my bed like a cat in the night
please go.
look at my eyes.
my eyes are made of lead and my face―
a jar of sand.
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Sara Beth Chavanne has also been published in Cherry Bleeds, an online literary journal. She lives in Oakland, self-publishes zines, works as a baker and writes lyrics, sings and plays in a band. She has enjoyed and benefitted from intermittent art, dance and writing courses at Berkeley City and Laney Colleges for several years.
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