Shea Winters

published 2023 as poetry in Ink Lit Magazine 24

if i had the choice
	i would let you kiss me, 
				gently,
					 but something holds me
						back and it’s remiss of me
					to turn away but i just
	can’t.

but if you were to
	flip me on my back
		expose my neck
			and the soft of my belly
				i would let you plunge in
			without flinching, i would
	stay.

and arch like an
	altar over vows—
		i would let you stab into
			my flesh and carve
				me like watermelon
					until all I am
				is spilling, gushing
	seed.

i would let you
	destroy and pillage
		without complaint,
			without restraint,
				you could take
			every part and
	leave.

and i would remain
	soft and pliant
		just like i
			was always
		taught to
	be.