Swollen by Orlando Silver
Bite my lip like you love me. Let the blood flow and become thin in your mouth. Bruise me most tenderly, with fingers gripping thick.
Look, there. The indent of me, under your ribcage, tearing. My teeth marks on your neck.
We hurt each other. We cannot stop. The violence in us sinks us both.
Remember the way you saw me first, my hand curled around the terracotta cup, glazed ocean blue? My father said, there’s one you should watch. I laughed. A sound like silver.
I already knew I owned you.
You already knew you’d eat me alive.
Orlando Silver (he/they) is a performance writer and poet from Sydney. They are the author of ‘Soft Fruit’ (2022) and ‘Relent’ (2023). They are the editor of the upcoming anthology “I Write the Body” published by Kith Books and can be found writing here: orlandosilver.substack.com