your fingernails
rake my skin
with rubbery wet lips
you erase a wound mark
from my shoulder

your nipples, hardened
dare my teeth and tongue:
dance!
dance!
dance with me!
they tersely bid

tracing your side
my hand absorbs heat

an ancient rhythm
like fire lying dormant
begins deep within us:

entice the embers
fan the flames
until they engulf us

let this be my martyrdom
our fate:
like moses' burning bush
to burn
and not be consumed