Embrace

The rain is infected
with bacteria
from secret experiments
of lonely men
and women.
It is that time
between winter
and spring
that is dismal
and threatening,
when the city
is airing its sweat-
stained corridors,
opening its arms
and legs imperceptibly
for an hour each morning.
Calm voices give whispered
instructions and hands
flutter
in the streetlight
hiding animal faces
that glisten
with swollen
red tongues.
Quietly,
they devour
each other.
Grateful
spasms,
violent motion
of interlocking,
clawing,
taunting.

(reproduced with respect but without permission)