Bed of Roses Sonnet Contest

"Les Vieux Amants"
by Kit Rohrbach


Tonight as my arthritic ankle nestles
Into the sunken small of your bad back,
My crooked finger runs along the slack
Line of your gray jaw. Sclerotic vessels
Slow blood to muscles cramped like pretzels.
Beneath my head I hear the creak and crack
Of your sore shoulder; my sacroiliac
Complains as joy and comfort wrestle.

It does not matter. Others might eulogize
Romeo and Juliet but Shakespeare
Never gave them time to realize
The length and depth of secrets we hold dear.
You kiss the crow's feet etched around my eyes;
I whisper words of love in your deaf ear.

About the Author
I lead an unexciting life. I've never biked across the Australian Outback, worked undercover for the FBI, or been kidnapped by aliens. Oh, wait — maybe I've been kidnapped by aliens. That would account for those annoying memory losses, since I'm quite sure they have nothing to do with my age.



Bed of Roses Love Sonnet Contest Winner

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