sock-knotting

i want to hold hands
to completion. where “to become”
means to envelop. our sea shell skin
holding the muscle of our desires.
where is your longing located?
is there a key in your drawer
salvaged from a pile of footsteps.
i used to collect rain
in mason jars in case the sky
turned into my fingers & forgot
how to let go. steam from a cup of tea
nests with cirrus wings inside
the sock drawer. do we all handshake
with ourselves? do we all
encounter moments of sameness.
a need to tie the hot air balloon
to the front porch & say,
“that too is mine.” taking my day off
one sock at a time. remembering
my barefoot years where no matter what
no one could coax me into socks.
was i against pairs? i believe
i still am. i prefer odd numbers.
a third earring to hang from
the ceiling before exiting a scene.
a third sock, unknotted & asking
to be filled with pennies.
i say, “quarters” & let the states
be swallowed one by one.
where do you put your toes
in the dark? i curl mine.
tiny fish hooks or tulip buds.
waiting for the company. mostly,
i want to discover the alone i had
last year standing at my dresser
pressing one sock into
the chest of another & thinking
“i want to be this fabric,
i want to be kissed through
a fabric mirror.”

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Robin Gow is a trans poet and young adult author from rural Pennsylvania. They are the author of Our Lady of Perpetual Degeneracy (Tolsun Books 2020) and the chapbook Honeysuckle (Finishing Line Press 2019). Their first young adult novel, A Million Quiet Revolutions, is forthcoming March 2022 with FSG Books for Young Readers. Gow’s poetry has recently been published in POETRY, Southampton Review, and Yemassee.