contest

this is no soft lolling

we undertake

we dance no dance

we cradle no softness

in our arms

this is no pas de deux

no love that we may slake

ourselves withal

no easy cruising

in the downtown
of our caress

this is a battle

between you and I

a hard fought struggle

to maintain the dynamic world
of us
 

we plague each other

with a critic’s eye

and flay each other

as a whip unfurled

we thrust ourselves

beneath each other’s skins

to roughly irritate

and cruelly scratch

and salt the wounds

that we inflict within

and cheer the moment
when

the victory
we snatch