boy in a space helmet
I dreamt I fell in love with a boy in a space helmet
the industrial fishbowl around his head
both a window of mortality
and a kissing barrier
those first stages of romance
the smiles and the pecks and possibilities
stunted by a wedge of glass
holding hands
or a touch of a palm in the small of my back
was contact that would not suffice
and so in an ultimate act of dedication
mirroring the centuries of sacrifices lovers make
he sucked in his breath
removed his shield
letting it glide down like an electric window
I held myself in anticipation
as he risked asphixiation
to gently press his lips to mine
