piercing

talk turned to piercings

over the lunch hour we shared 
surface comparisons

ears, tongue, nose

i spoke of the modern primitives

the desire to adorn -

to be altered, or altar -

what kinds of objects can be placed under the skin

or through it, how 
the body fights, encases, pushes

how I had toyed with the idea of a prince albert piercing -

i did not tell them why.

i told them of my friend

- let’s call her "T" -

who took turns piercing her nipples

letting one heal before piercing the other

for the rush, she said

i did not speak of st.teresa

how her ecstasy was double-edged

how sometimes pleasure and pain

are entwined, how 
passion is enfleshed

and spirited, how 
i too imagine myself

satisfied with nothing 
less than god.

we did not speak of how 
our hearts are too often pierced

by the words we say and don’t say

the longing to hear your voice

we did not speak of the fragility of skin

how much it is like paper,

how much gets written on it,

what stories we then tell

we did not speak of the human heart, our need

our fear