Post-Coital Revelations

After orgasm, as the blood spreads
out from the groin where it rushed
as if to an emergency, revelations come rushing
in to fill the void —
the regret of insipid aspirations that will never

be fulfilled, the nakedness of silence endured,
the realization that the body barrier
cannot really be crossed. All the self-delusions
nurtured in order to keep humans
walking upright are shattered
in that first post-coital moment, but instantly
begin to rebuild. And we thankfully forget,
because we could not bear it, what it was like

to be as absolutely open as a newly shed snake.

Toni La Ree Bennett’s verbal and visual work has appeared in Gold Man Review, Gravel, Poemmemoirstory, Puerto del Sol, Hawaii Pacific Review, december, and Memoir among other publications. She is also a photographer and lives with a flock of feisty finches. Photography can be seen at tonibennett.com.