Whales in IMAX are orgasmic
out of the ocean, flying over a cliff,
CGI effects of flipping over
to a Respighi number, and can you imagine
falling down that waterfall with a lover,
letting go of all of this earth,
or as they say on reality shows, Take that leap
of faith, get ready to fall…in love,
as the contestant and her man rappel down
a twenty-one-story building, he tells her
Baby, just look at me, and no, they’re not in love
because this isn’t a life or death situation,
and I’m not afraid, but I get turned on
by my fears, because life’s a little more
fun that way, because if you’re stuck on a roller coaster
ready to flip, think about sex with a combo
of a young James Spader and Gatsby—I promise
you’ll get through the drop
in your stomach when terror becomes tingle,
or what about nights I nightmare over Walmart
and grocery store pool floats: killer orcas and Sea World
dolphins and smiling turtles—
tonight, it’s a Free Willy on dry land chasing me
as he rubs against the ground,
transforming into a snake, then a twenty-foot piece
of rubber, barking like a seal, pounding like a condom
wrapped around an oh ohhhh noooooo ohhhhh,
I wake screaming, like 1930s’ Disney cartoons:
Mickey shrinking in a garden, chased by a worm,
or what about Donald and his long-necked ostrich,
Hortense, necking him, and oh, could you make love
to a woman’s neck the way Modigliani did,
or as my art teacher says, I have a friend
who can only draw women with long necks,
and I think about how long necks really are like swans
before the squawking and biting,
viewed by couples so in love they’re on a boat,
and Parmigianino really knew women,
didn’t he? Madonna of the Long Neck,
her angels in the corner, the poet as prophet
barely touching her knee, her hand on breast,
the beautiful eyelids, curtain
draped in the corner, and covers
and veils and canopies are always sexy,
but I’d rather be on one side of the curtain
than the other, because when an ex-lover
touched my thigh, telling me,
You’ve got such an elegant and talented neck,
I thought, “Yeah, just shut up
and kiss me—you’ve got absolutely
no idea,” my neck wrapping around his like a swan’s.
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