How Love Starts

this is how love starts
you notice the nervous twitch
of her cheek
the flicker of her smile
you gaze at the same flame smouldering
you kiss
you melt into one another.

then you notice
how her breasts cup in your hands
her slender fingers
weave themselves along your spine.

and love grows pound by pound
until it is a weight you almost can not bear
her legs smooth and endless
her ass smooth and firm
your fingers along her opening
she moans quietly.

and she lets you stagger awhile
with the weight of your love
lets you pretend she shares the same burden
and she picks up the toys involved in the game
and her pretension trails off
but whatever you bear for her keeps on throbbing
like the pain of an amputated arm.

that is how love stalls.

by Adam Tod Leverton