for r.t.o.: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit (vergil’s aeneid, 1.203)
if i could smell this moment forever,
i would. as soft & sweet as the strip
of unworn skin between your fingers
you let me idly graze like grass in
sunlight. my nose is cold with winter
but my chest is full of springtime. i
realize now why you’re so easy to love:
you’re the cherry blossoms in union
square. ever fleeting. so frustratingly
impermanent that i have no choice but
to drink you like rainwater. i don’t know
if it’s possible to love you like this for
that much longer. my lungs might burst,
blooming too soon, like my father’s. i
can’t say whether this much loveliness
is sustainable beyond a mere season; we
are two too restless for change. but for
right now, you smell like home. please,
let me soak up all of you, even just for
one minute. & perhaps—as per the son
of love swept from troy—it will be pleasing
to have remembered these things one day.
TOVA G. (they/them) is a non-binary, queer, jewish poet who specializes in the intersection between twentieth century poetics, dramatic literature, & ancient greek & roman antiquity at sarah lawrence college in yonkers, new york. they work often with the poetry society of new york. their work has been featured in the eunoia review, midway journal, love and squalor, clickbait, and primavera zine. they currently live in fidi in manhattan with their partner and cat. they work in midtown at the museum of sex.