She joins me on the sofa and leans into me
she rests her head on my arm and stretches her legs out
she looks at me and smiles
“stop looking at my feet” she says,
it's like she's never met me
I get up to do something
I don't remember what; it doesn't matter
I come back and walk toward the side of the sofa
where her feet rest
she isn't looking at me directly but she's grinning more and more
I take a throw pillow that she bought for one of the chairs
I lift her feet and slide the pillow under them
she shifts position to lie on her back resigned
she likes the pillow treatment, the attention
her feet are pink and unblemished
it's almost unnatural
there should be a thousand marks from my lips
but they are determined to stay delicate and receiving
I kiss the tip of one of her toes as she giggles and shifts
I kiss another and she twitches some more
I place my hand on her ankles and she giggles with fear
something rare
I lift her foot by the ankle and place my finger
on the center of her sole
she's repressing a cry
she's clamping her eyes shut
she's digging her nails into the cushions
I pull my finger downward
slowly, slowly,
to feel her skin
but she pulls her foot away
she's laughing out loud
“stop!”
I grab her ankle and pull it back
I'm sorry Honey, it's not fair for you
to have this and not share it
I'm through studying
I lift her feet by the pillow
and sit under it to place it and her feet in my lap
I cross her ankles and hold them to my chest
holding her legs with my arm
And I take my free hand
and lay them on her feet
and release my fingers on her feet like running legs
I soak in the bellow of laughter that I force
from her tiny beautiful mouth
You've said you think that this
is about control, like sadism
It doesn't feel that way to me
it's simpler
It's your skin, it's your laughter
I don't read anything else at all
I know it's silly and it's strange
but really, what isn't?
she rests her head on my arm and stretches her legs out
she looks at me and smiles
“stop looking at my feet” she says,
it's like she's never met me
I get up to do something
I don't remember what; it doesn't matter
I come back and walk toward the side of the sofa
where her feet rest
she isn't looking at me directly but she's grinning more and more
I take a throw pillow that she bought for one of the chairs
I lift her feet and slide the pillow under them
she shifts position to lie on her back resigned
she likes the pillow treatment, the attention
her feet are pink and unblemished
it's almost unnatural
there should be a thousand marks from my lips
but they are determined to stay delicate and receiving
I kiss the tip of one of her toes as she giggles and shifts
I kiss another and she twitches some more
I place my hand on her ankles and she giggles with fear
something rare
I lift her foot by the ankle and place my finger
on the center of her sole
she's repressing a cry
she's clamping her eyes shut
she's digging her nails into the cushions
I pull my finger downward
slowly, slowly,
to feel her skin
but she pulls her foot away
she's laughing out loud
“stop!”
I grab her ankle and pull it back
I'm sorry Honey, it's not fair for you
to have this and not share it
I'm through studying
I lift her feet by the pillow
and sit under it to place it and her feet in my lap
I cross her ankles and hold them to my chest
holding her legs with my arm
And I take my free hand
and lay them on her feet
and release my fingers on her feet like running legs
I soak in the bellow of laughter that I force
from her tiny beautiful mouth
You've said you think that this
is about control, like sadism
It doesn't feel that way to me
it's simpler
It's your skin, it's your laughter
I don't read anything else at all
I know it's silly and it's strange
but really, what isn't?
