Marianne Díaz-Hernández

i took my dress off ‘cause it made me think of you

of all your failed efforts to look away that sunday evening

of how your eyes kept undressing me with every glance

stripping away in your mind that dress I only bought

so you would

take it off 

i took my nails off ‘cause they made me think of you

of the way your hands held mine and commented on my nail polish

‘you changed it’, you said, as if that was important

you think i don’t know you only wanted

to hold my hands

i took my eyes off ‘cause they made me think of you

of the deep ocean of your eyes looking back into the night sky of mine

of all the unsaid things your eyes have told me against your wishes

of the way they made me feel like the world had fallen away for a second

i took my head off ‘cause it made me think of you

rethink over and over every word that you’ve thoughtlessly said

‘i don’t know how i’ll do this without you’

or ‘i cannot see you go’ or

‘nothing is happening between us’

i took my heart off ‘cause it made me think of you

of the way it kept jumping every time you stepped into the room

of how hard it was for me to keep a straight face 

when you said my name, or shouted my name in a crowd and my heart

skipped

a beat

i took my skin off ‘cause it made me think of you

of your hand on my thigh, of your head on my chest,

of your arms holding on to my waist like a castaway

of your breath so close, your voice a whisper 

and now there’s nothing more of me to take away

except for this relentless, unforgiving thought

of you