Richard King Perkins II is a state-sponsored advocate for residents in long-term care facilities. He lives in Crystal Lake, IL, USA with his wife, Vickie and daughter, Sage. He is a three-time Pushcart nominee and a Best of the Net nominee whose work has appeared in more than a thousand publications.
I dreamed of kissing you;
I don’t know why—
a sense of paternity
or some hidden lechery
tasting that mouth imagined,
amorous and silent.
No excitement is framed
without a shrugging of risk;
my abashed confession,
grieving importunity
with darting words
and spring-loaded intent.
The next dreamless night
I’m kissing you again—
this was not unexpected;
drawing down upon you
an anonymous thing arrives
in flesh-like traces, lovingly.