Jackson Nieuwland + Carolyn DeCarlo

Jackson Nieuwland:
I kiss your toenails and you flinch
because feet are disgusting and it tickles.

I pour honey on your skin because we are not vegan.

We will hold hands even though we both sweat
and when we part ways a puddle will fall to the concrete between us.

(we will never part ways)

I held your hand while you were tattooed
and I will hold your hand when you give birth
and you will hold my body tight when it convulses.

We get two Valentine's Days
because we have too much love to fit into just one,
and we deserve a reward.

Now Valentine's is over, but it is only a number.
I struggle on the special days to
say something more than normal.

(i am sappy everyday)

What is the world record for most times a couple has said I love you?
We will break it.

Like those other records we didn’t.

How can I write my wedding vows when
the ability of my heart to love you
surpasses the ability of my tongue to describe it.

(we are getting married)

I try to write you letters
but letters don't arrange
in the way I want to lick you.

We kiss the air sometimes.

I kiss the air as I read you stories.
You fall asleep but I keep reading
and watching and kissing you

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Caroplyn DeCarlo:
my foot is in your hand and oh now it’s in your mouth. my toenails on your lips. the phone on your lips. your lips on the honey on my skin. the honey in the sweat on your hands in my mouth when we kiss. when we kiss on skype our bodies cannot touch. our lips touch air. when we get married we will kiss and the honey will pass from our gums out between our lips on our tongues. our tongues will write our love on the air in vows. our tongues write letters on each others’ bodies. our tongues will transcribe our hearts when our minds fail. our love is bigger than a body. our love shakes from the seams of our bodies. our love is in the spaces of pain when ink enters skin. our love is a lump of flesh formed from the meeting of our two bodies. our love is our love.

Carolyn DeCarlo loves hugging kittens and Jackson Nieuwland.
Jackson Nieuwland loves unicorns and Carolyn DeCarlo