midnight

i cut the apple open & saw your face there.
closed the halves & didn't eat for five years.
in that time, developed a craving
for milk. drank air until it thickened.
with a paring knife i cut holes 
in the night sky. save the swatches so i can
ask you what texture our unfettering was.
when did you look at me & decide,
"this man is a ghost"? if i had been looking
i could have put the flashlight to your eyes.
cutting the fingers off forks. taffy night
pulled sweet & thin. a membrane to slip under.
veil or gown? marrying beads of caramel.
midnight on the banister & midnight falling
loud as fruit. loud as a great metal pot.
we will certainly be parents in the other life.
you with an apron skeleton & me
with a hammer for a heart. it's a dangerous
hour. the murky joy. mundane thresholds:
closet, casket, creamery. a cow
laying dead on the sidewalk on her way
toward cement. you should not be here.
this is my bed. my sleep. my darkness.
putting a line of masking tape across the room
to indicate where you begin. crossing
the line just to feel the vibration
of your old breath. a lover is
an always vanishing thing. when will you
return? when will you never? how do you
count the apple seeds already in your blood?
when you miss me, do your day lilies 
open new faces? mine do & they all
have your same tongue.