Don’t tell me you wouldn’t know it,
the heart-lurch, the skin-zing,
the adrenaline fizz flashing along you
if that one
sent an email
if this one
entered a room.
Don’t tell me your pupils
wouldn’t dilate, your
palms and feet and armpits
wouldn’t sweat, your
breath wouldn’t quicken
if that one
brushed you
if this one
cast off a flake
a ticket-stub or candy-wrapper
to be your treasure.
With that DNA on it.
Don’t tell me you wouldn’t shriek,
at least inside your head,
wouldn’t jump and clap,
at least inside your skin,
wouldn’t tell it eagerly
if that one
looked back into your eyes
if this one
spoke your name.
Don’t scorn it.
Don’t deny it.
Don’t forget it, don’t defy it.
Don’t hide, deride, override it.
It’s real. Confide it.
(First published in PixelPapers)