On Desire

By Despy Boutris

You desired her unlike the way

you desired fried rice for lunch,

unlike the way you desired to dunk

in the lake every day

the summer before, unlike the way

you desired to be closer

to your mother, unlike the way you desired

         the days to last longer, night

turning to day, unlike the way

         you desired that guy to ask you

to the homecoming dance. You desired

         her, maybe, the way you desired

your own limbs. Your own hands,

         veins unpunctured, body unscathed.

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Despy Boutris (she/her) has published writing in Copper Nickel, Colorado Review, American Poetry Review, The Gettysburg Review, The Journal, and elsewhere. Currently, she teaches at the University of Houston and serves as Editor-in-Chief of The West Review.