Kiel M. Gregory

Emotionally Compartmentalized Lovemaking Is Called Fucking

When she said Deeper,

I thought how far I’d already gone;

fearing her departures even before she’d left,

wanting for our moments and instances

of effortless chemistry to never

stop boiling over.

When she said Harder,

I thought how difficult it already was;

sharing that most intimate, connected moment,

creating a space within me for her.

When she said You feel so good inside me,

I thought how my chance for that had passed;

having someone so ready to love me for who I am,

finding someone so willing to accept what I was,

how remarkable that our encounter should come to be

and how long I’d wanted that emotional connection.

When she said I won’t disappear on you,

I thought how her words seemed out of place;

a foreshadowing I denied.


Kiel M. Gregory is a poet, fiction writer, and essayist living in Sackets Harbor, NY. He attends SUNY Oswego where he studies Creative Writing and Philosophy. He co-facilitates a weekly poetry workshop at SUNY Jefferson. In addition to Gandy Dancer, his work has appeared or is forthcoming in Paterson Literary Review, Lips, Great Lake Review, Black River Review, and the North Country Writers Festival.