Sick Day
by Mark Lilley
When I entered you for the first time,
you said there’s no going back,
and I repeated there’s no going back,
and the sex that followed was not raw
like we imagined, and left us with an ache
that lingered beyond the last thrust
as my forehead rested on yours,
and beyond the spooning
when you handed me my belt
as we dressed under fluorescent lights,
and beyond the motel curtains into rush hour
when every honked horn was muted,
and beyond the bedtime routine
when we assured our spouses
it was just another day at the office,
and into the morning when I overheard you
tell our boss that you were feeling better,
and that your migraine had passed.
you said there’s no going back,
and I repeated there’s no going back,
and the sex that followed was not raw
like we imagined, and left us with an ache
that lingered beyond the last thrust
as my forehead rested on yours,
and beyond the spooning
when you handed me my belt
as we dressed under fluorescent lights,
and beyond the motel curtains into rush hour
when every honked horn was muted,
and beyond the bedtime routine
when we assured our spouses
it was just another day at the office,
and into the morning when I overheard you
tell our boss that you were feeling better,
and that your migraine had passed.
Mark Lilley earned his undergraduate degree from Morehead State University and his MFA from Butler University. His poems have appeared in Apple Valley Review, Atlanta Review, The Louisville Review, Poet Lore, Potomac Review, Southern Indiana Review, and other journals. His poetry has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best Spiritual Literature Award, and Best of the Net. His debut collection, Lucky Boy, was published in 2020 by Finishing Line Press. He lives in Iowa City.