Assembly Line
Shannon Hozinec

Affection: a ghost word in this set of foreign instructions.

We are locked together like dogs

underneath this press of heat,

and survive under the fire's belly,
rubbing the coals between our toes.

For warmth, or for love --
We are safe in the gallery.

Her mouth:a blender, clinical lines
His mouth:but a collection of blades

haphazardly set beside
a pair of crooked scissors
bloodwork and bloodrest

She will un-vulgar you, Hephaestus,
lay you bare with delicate heat.

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