This is how I know I am smitten
I roll your name on my tongue at dawn
A force of habit that yields a soothing
Like gingered mint in the wake of rain
This is how I know I am smitten
I hear the tickling echoes of your name
At the cracking of my knuckles at noon
Such sweetness in short busts of pain
This is how I know I am smitten
My feet map my way to my bed at dusk
Where a million memories of you stand
Like sentries accepting of no intruders
This is how I know I am smitten
I find re-entry points at every marked exit
And think of us playing musical chairs
Like teens thrilled by surrounding inadequacies.
Tobi Adebowale
March 21, 2019