Threshold

love is
so fake
it makes me sick

what i really like
is
the way

you caress my face
just before
you slap me, the insane
tenderness of it

the first time you were afraid
you’d leave a mark

i’m not afraid
of anything
that’s my whole problem
 
 

Hedonic Adaptation

my favorite you
asleep
in your mother’s bed
wearing somebody else’s clothes

your favorite me
shimmering
shimmering

i think
i’ll be hungry
forever
with your crooked teeth stuck
in my perfect mouth

kneeling
breathing

call me
witness me
save me
bury me
forgive me
 
 
 
Nicola Maye Goldberg’s work has appeared in The Quietus, Witch Craft Magazine, Electric Cereal, and elsewhere. She lives in New York City, where she is working on a novel.