three days in the cabin
and we haven't yet
had sex. on the morning
of the 14th – this is valentines –
and I turn her over
and dig about the nipples,
like a man scouting rocks
for wild shellfish
on an early
bright day. I play
down a little – she responds
and I play down
some more. go to kiss her
over the neck
and on the mouth
and she pushes me away, mumbling something
about morning breath. then pulls,
suddenly hungry,
and her teeth almost take off my chin.

it's all a moment,
and something like
momentum. pants past our ankles,
we finally fall
forward – I dive
and taste shellfish –
like a car at the edge of a cliff
its movement dislodging the rocks.