night riding

mouth partly opened, a breathless kiss.
tongue moving, curling, front to back,
forming little bubbles with my spit.

my shadow is consumed and reborn, consumed and reborn, consumed.
streetlights splash the street and i am silent.

spinning, straddling, pushing and pulling;
fighting to win as the hill crests and i find release.

the trees are noiseless, the houses lightless
i'm in-between the hours,
feeling my body, my muscles lengthening and contracting, reborn.

i listen to my breathing; sharp, deep.
inhale, consume. exhale. consumed.
leaning in, banking, then standing--triumphant--as i pass porches,
halfway home and only 12 minutes in.
turning on The Oak Road and crackling over dry leaves and acorns,
crushed Ginkgo, pungent and already fading.

the four way, a suggestion more than anything, and i slip off to the side
i ride. electric currents without the wiring, sparked.
revitalized.