hot peppers 

i noticed a short hot pepper plant
sprouting all on its own by my window.
over night the plant grew, it's changing 
emitting the sound of crackled knuckles,
the twisting of a spine. i sat up 
in bed to see the plant coming into view,
it's fruit like red & orange fingers
tapping on the glass. i asked the plant
what it wanted with me at this hour
& it responded by continuing to drum 
on the glass, only, now more rapidly.
i said that i have no use for hot peppers
& it reminded me the time we stood in
your back yard, the rows of hot pepper
plants that grew everywhere you walked,
your footprints full of acid. i opened
my mouth for you & you put one on my tongue.
a piece of the sun perched on every small
grainy seed & my teeth shone 
like glow sticks in your bedroom.
the sun, dipping itself into a glass
of milk. i remember your laughter 
like the smacking together of stones,
the tapping of fingers on a window. 
all those years i was convinced that 
eating the peppers was my own idea 
but there you were, pointing a long
red one towards my lips, begging me to open.
i lift the window because i know
the hot peppers will find their
way inside anyway. i tell them to have
a seat anywhere & they spread, 
they caress my skin & it burns,
their acid & oils seeping through flesh.
i lay out as they touch me, they laugh
only this time with the sound of 
wind chimes, the ones that hung on
your back porch. i hope that wherever
you are that someone has fed your 
hot peppers. i don't mean this our
of revenge, but out of necessity.
i bathe in milk to try & wash out
the sting but the peppers find their
way to the bathroom too. i say,
please stop, it's time to stop.
but they can't help it, they don't
know any better. they blink like
christmas lights. they are so happy 
to have found a home. they love me
deeply & furiously, did they climb
out of your mouth? how long have
the peppers been watching us &
do you chew them as you eat?
eventually the honeymoon phase fades
& the peppers become more docile,
i rub them & it scalds my skin
but eventually they swell, becoming
bell peppers, green & yellow & orange.
i slice them in the kitchen &
eat them in slivers like ribs. 
have they found you yet, then
or was it just me?