that heart is my heart

the whites of our eyes             our scleras turn into
clouds cirrostratus                   a temperate illusion
that when it comes                  down to it doesn’t mean excuse

you ask me what                     i remember of the aristophanes
play where the chorus             says shake from our
deathless shapes                      the mist of rain

and i say not much                  because i only skimmed
it along with most                   books  you smile and say
the flowers we stole                this morning for my vase

will burn off in the kiln            leaving no trace or evidence
except indentations                 no court of law would accept
we try to hangupside              down from the shower rod

both transfixed                        on the mist above the bathtub
it’s fifty degrees outside         warmest day this week
so you open                             the bathroom windows

i tell myself i will try              to finish whatever i read next
which turns out to be              an article about
a couple in a cage                    and it feels odd
that i’m so confident
we’re not going
to die here

s.g. maldonado-vélez is a Puerto Rican poet who is currently an MFA candidate in poetry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their chapbook no matter what you say spotify playlists are not mixtapes, with illustrations by Stephanie Francis, was a part of the Ghost City Press 2018 Micro-Chapbook Series. s.g. has been published in Zoomoozophone Review, the Shade Journal, and Peach Mag. They can be found on Twitter @M00NP0ET and a number of other projects at sgmaldonadovelez.com. They strongly believe that we share hearts.