Raphaela Moreno: Midnight Love

Photo: Joanna C. Valente

Lovehandles

Donuts at midnight love
No heat in the floorboards love 

Grabbing at lovehandles and grasping at straws.
The way the skin of your knuckles flakes off in the winter,
Those three solitary white hairs in your beard.

Lumpy old mattress love
Abuela’s enchiladas love 

I want to absorb you,
to warm myself with your idealism,
to experiment with satisfaction.

Rain through the ceiling love
Backseat of the car love

Come inside, cariño.
Let the leaves rest where they lie.
Dying to nourish the roots.

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Raphaela Moreno received a MA in Poetry from the University of Chicago, and have since split time between working in higher ed and travelling, primarily in Latin America.