Never Give Love a Name


i.

the Chachapoyas did not call
themselves the Chachapoyas

this name an invention
by the Incas          the history

of the Chachapoyas recorded
in ruins          fragments

of bowls          tombs
tucked in mountain cliffs


ii.

breath caught          in the throat
erodes the lungs          scratches

against the empty caves
left by the ribs          the broken

bowl of a shoulder blade
twisted bridge of the neck

that can no longer be crossed
ridges of the spine

a chipped necklace
memories of a kiss embalmed          tucked

in the folds of an ear
now there is only this

only this          the body
as archeological ruins

the crumbling ear
that must have heard          this is love

the spine that must have arched
when the neck was kissed

the shoulder blade that must have bruised
when gripped too hard during fucking

the ribs that must have housed
an entire civilization

the dusty mouth that must have killed
love when it said          this is love