POLITICAL Poem: They’ve Branded Us Partners, by Skunk Birkemeier

they’ve branded us partners
in crime, killers on the
run. our love is
lethal. kiss like a little death,
a haunting. fuck
like our souls leave the mortal
plane, split it down
the center, split us down
our centers, sew us together–
call us the freak show
all you want;
we like it.

they’ve branded us cannibals,
ravenous animals.
our love is a hunger,
a kiss on the neck vampiric
desire, a modern Bram Stoker.
fuck like a consumption,
i devour you,
you devour me.
no one else holds
the power to tear
apart like you–to drain
the blood from my
chest and lick
the honeyed drops
that trickle
down
the way you do.

they’ve branded us threats,
destruction.
maybe we are.
maybe we’ll tear apart
the fabric of the universe.
maybe we’ll take some
of the scraps and
upholster something new,
something quainter,
something queerer,
thrown together like a quilt,
a patchwork clown suit,
a collage.

we brand each other lovers.

i brand you the sun.

i brand you autumn leaves.

i brand you little beetles.

i brand you a cozy coffee morning.

i brand you my muse.