I put our books face to face <br />so they could talk. <br />They whispered about us. <br /> <br />I put yours on top of mine. <br />They would not mate. <br /> <br />Like poor dumb pandas in the London Zoo, <br />they would not come together. <br /> <br />I put them back to back. <br />They would not sleep. <br /> <br />I put them right side up to upside down. <br />They would not lick each other's wounds. <br /> <br />The night we met <br />you fed me fish eggs & dark beer. <br />We spoke of animals & Shakespeare. <br />You talked about acidic inks & papers. <br />You told me how our books digest themselves. <br /> <br />You laid the pages of your body over mine. <br />You printed my face with kisses. <br />The letters fell into a heap under our bed. <br />The sheets were dust. <br />The fish eggs swam our mouths.<br /><br />Erica Jong<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-book-with-four-backs/
