Autumn Kepley—“Love Letters to…”
Happy Valentine’s Day! Atlantis is celebrating with a piece from our “Love Letters to…” open mic.
“a love letter to kadin”
the space that melts from between our bare skin
as you pull me close before the sun breaches the horizon,
begging me into your embrace
because you just want me to be near;
“do you want to try a sip of my coffee?”
and remembering my usual order;
tracing circles into my back with your palm
when i’m on the phone with the mechanic
(because you know it makes me anxious
and you know your touch is the cure);
calling me “beautiful” when the wine sinks
into our cheeks and under our breath;
the distance i trace with my index finger from one end of your scar to the other;
memorizing that tiny mole on your face
(next to your nose, above your lip)
and sowing a kiss into it when my lips miss yours;
asking to read the poetry i compose on tuesday afternoons
(even when the words are not about you,
but especially when they are);
wearing my slippers to the drive through instead of your own shoes;
breathing into my open mouth,
making me feel like i’m slipping into a phoebe bridgers song
without the heartbreak and the tears,
only laughter and your smile;
sitting on my bed in silence while we both read,
my hand on your arm, yours on my knee—
i used my red pen to etch a heart
into the tanned skin of your bare back that night—
words i can’t say yet,
consolidated into a hand-crafted symbol
just outside of your line of sight;
when you sing to me in the car and listen to my favorite songs
because you show me a love that feels like “treacherous”;
you don’t like taylor swift but listen to it anyways just for me,
and i play “s.t.p.” on repeat until sublime starts to rhyme with your name.
—intimacy, defined
Autumn is a senior at UNCW majoring in English with a concentration in literary and cultural studies. She is currently writing a book of poetry with her dear friend Brooke. This poem is dedicated to the tiny moments where she feels most loved.