Lowell had a curious power, it was embarrassing,
I was back in grade school or at least my skin was.
Across a room my temperature would rise,
before I was consciously thinking of him, my body was.
Later I would see a girl do the same for me,
she had to turn away and look down.
I didn't understand until I understood.
Her cheekbones and her collarbones were my favorite,
delicate spars under the flush.
Not a delicate girl, but suddenly she seemed it,
she was fragile under this pinkened skin,
she had things going on right under her surface
that I couldn't touch, but I could get very very close.