Two Poems by Ilinca Popescu
Author: Poetry Editor
January 19, 2015
This week, two poems by Ilinca Popescu.
BLACK GLASS NIGHT
This late summer black glass night—hooray
for the two of us in love—his dance-hard muscles
and my femme rose sundress—at the subway
he’s trying to dissuade me—he’ll muster
and rally—it’s 3am—teasing me toward
a stone bench at Grant’s solemn tomb—we’re chilled
but feverish—still insatiable—tearing forward—
he sucks on my nipples, my cunt is filled
with his fingers—the quick rush of taxis
grows but we don’t notice—we are in love
and his clit is rocking on my hip—our axes
rotate around only each other—noise of
the rustling hedges, we are oblivious
to the man on his knees with his eyes trained on us.
UNBOUNDED LOVE POEM
First (or last)
there is C.
whom I am dating
now
but before (and still)
there is Z.
even though
he’s still in Berlin
and then (but definitely
not now)
there is E.
whom I saw
for the first time
in two years
in North Carolina
(at the coffee shop
of our first date
over the black coffees
of our first date)
even though I
was still with C.
and E. and I (me)
agreed
that maybe someday
we would try again
even though she
too,
is with somebody else.
But my friend
(who’s also pining)
(who’s also another)
told me that
connections
once made
are never broken
and that
time
is a social construct
and like nothing
is truly straightforward
time is really
circular
and cyclical
and parallel
and so
here
is C. beside me
practicing her kajukenbo
her hair
falling across her face
and
here is E.
and the blue heron
we saw fly
over the flooded river
the day she told me
she loved me
and here
and now
is Z.
and the sweating summer day
we ran
through the twelve-story
Unisphere fountain,
holding hands.
——
ILINCA POPESCU is a femme Romanian immigrant living in Oakland, CA. She studied creative writing at Warren Wilson College and believes in hot pink dinosaur earrings and feminist solidarity politics. Some of her previous work can be found in Lunch Ticket, and she can be contacted at a.ilinca.pop@gmail.com.
