“First Sex Sonnet During the Pandemic” by Craig Santos

First Sex Sonnet During the Pandemic


awkward my wife &
 
                                                                                                              i kiss 

undress


                                                                                                 inch 

slowly 


                                                                                    as if emerging 

from separate


                                                                      quarantines


is it safe


                                                        skin  


tensed at


                                           the vulnerable 

risk 


                      
                  of reopening

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Craig Santos Perez is the author of five books of poetry and the co-editor of five anthologies. He teaches at the University of Hawaiʻi, Manoa