A Woman Leans In; Dark

I want to whisper
into the space that draws you
to this pause between breathings.
I want to hear
the hollow through my throat
shake your eyes to see
a sign of all this
gravity you resist with
your anatomy locked in leaning.

Does this darkness
lay its hands in you
and pull you in?

Is it that
swelling in your womb?

I want to ask how deep
your shadows reach
and then to kneel to the meeting
of your hands.
I want to see if your eyes
will follow me down
or if I am
as invisible as
all this
evident distance.


by jerry gordon
on a painting by Chika Yoshii