by Tiffany Rice
(06/04/08)
One button.
Undone.
A seemingly unimportant detail which fascinates me. Your tie hangs loosely from your neck as you speak intently to someone on the phone, someone who can't see your undone button and the beginnings of your five o'clock shadow.
A few small twists of chest hair are visible against your pale throat. The small triangle of flesh normally buried beneath your meticulously knotted tie is now exposed, inviting, demanding my attention.
The "U" of your collar bone, the Jugular Notch of your sternum, occupies my thoughts. Your skin stretched smooth across the bone, fragile flesh that insulates your chest cavity. My fingers toy with my small hoop earring, tracing its curve back and forth as I ruminate on how your True Ribs feel under my aching fingers. Coveting your Clavicles, seducing your Subclavians, mesmerizing your Membranes and desiring your Dermis -- I stall -- hoping to capture your Cornea.
The snap of your cell phone interjects actuality into my anatomical desires.
Your hand reaches for mine, pulling me into you. Your Orbicularis Oris Muscle parts, and meets mine. My Lumbrical Muscles go to work, undoing another button.
