HONDA CB-750 by Julie Paul

At the crossroads of the crotch
begins the vulval buzz:
ten thousand bees,
lips on a trumpet.

Together we ride the road
that tempts the sea
to rise; leather to leather
we lean through every curve together –

your shoulder dips
and machinery follows.
Behind you, I sit, breathe
lilacs    red current    mock orange

half my cells spring-lullabied,
the others all a-shimmy, alert only
to the growl of little explosions
between our legs.

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from The Rules of the Kingdom by Julie Paul, shortlisted for the 2018 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award
McGill-Queen’s University Press | 2017 | 130 Page | $16.95 | Purchase online

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Julie Paul is the author of the short story collections The Jealousy Bone and The Pull of the Moon. She lives in Victoria, BC.