WORKING ON OURSELVES

after Kenneth Koch

Close your eyes and imagine sexless sex
The orgasmic desexed eyes and sex still
Sexless the eyes closed and sext lists as
Eyes alone as I sex without as with you
But desexed sexy as sexless again say sex
And this time mean see sex as I as you we
See and this is where we derive the word
Comfort from fortress and shoots liquid from
The body as in strength in the anticipatory
As in fortress and afterward all desexed
Without out less out closeted sex out of
The closet and in sex behind closed eyes
And opened now sex sex that opens out
As enters sexlessly imagined opening out
And seeing sex resexed desexed sexes and
Comfort desexed shoots liquid from the
Fortress as in bodies between desexes you
And I sexless we call resexed eyes closed.

Zach Linge is the Assistant Editor of The Southeast Review and a PhD student in Poetry at Florida State University. His poetry appears or is forthcoming in The Journal, Sonora Review, and Nimrod International Journal, among other publications, and his second refereed article is forthcoming in a special issue of African American Review on Percival Everett.

Gem Blackthorn is QMT's Sex Columnist, and the author/curator of Lust Thrust Thursdays. Send her your submissions and questions at sexsexsex [at] queenmobs.com