Elsa Peretti Cuff

This isn’t a gift but a bribe,
An inducement to—please—
Keep out of my head
(At least while I sleep)

So instead of contriving to trick
My hippocampus
Into finding your lips
In my slack cotton sheets

I can just close my eyes,
Impervious to
Time’s dispassionate tick
Till I next touch your cheek.

Jason Schwartz is a crypto tax lawyer. His work has appeared in Toasted Cheese. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife and daughter.