kissing it better/all better, Ana Radojevic

you offered to kiss it all better. 

my headache,

the burn on my neck,

the blue and bruised ribs,

the ache in my right hip.

all better.

and when i let out a slight cringe of discomfort, 

your lips were next to mine,

ready to take away the pain.

like the venom of a snake bite.

the razor burn on the inner of my thigh,

the itch from mosquitoes on my calves,

the palm of my feet from shoes i’ve outgrown.

all better.

my baggy eyes of generations that stressed,

the searing pain in my chest from last night’s date,

the wince i coughed out from breathing you in like nicotine.

all better, now that you left.

but in the presence of pleasure, who kisses me now?

my forehead before bed,

a hickey from the night before,

my hip bone right before a love bite.

he kisses

and when i let out a slight cringe of discomfort,

his hand reaches for mine,

ready to take away the pain.

like chamomile tea for a sore throat.