Roman Baths

this morning stretch
of extracted core sample
a study of antipodes
can’t assay in proof

your first kiss to my belly
that falling butterfly tapestry
or what my hand translates
in the sleuth of your back

these separate rooms
as breathing needs sleep
not to tell the children
of this old ruin you and me

where the hypocaust
intact between the villas
is stoked with more 
than the occurrence of heat

First published in The Ugly Writers 2018
Unstill Mosaics – The Book of Love, Loss, and Longing 2019