No 3: HONEST WORK

image by lucia auerbach (model: charlotte lokey)

JULIA NEUMANN

I called your name to a June moon 

and cried when the sun woke me up instead. 

It burned my arms and hips 

to the point beyond repair of a soft aloe cleanse

and instead lathered myself within.  

What a crisp plunge into a cold lake 

on a hot summer day seeing you this winter was. 

Because begging for love is honest work 

but enjoying the shape of your own mattress is too.