Thinking of You on the way from German to 19th Century Lit.

Poem by Katie Selbee

We oldes Soules are, my dear;
old as coverless volumes and bronze lamps with
chain pulls, button-tufted arm-chairs with
embroidered floral patterns and monstrous
glass cabinets housing curious objects but o, o
when we kiss you grip meine Haare
too hard for Victorian prose.
Our love too rough to be dried
roses gently tucked in his breast pocket—
how the fuck would you bike with it?
Love too hard for shaking hands to reveal it
and in passing start at the touch of skin on skin no—
more like a volcanic rock filled with little holes thrown
through a stained-glass window.
Shocking.