my name

I was in my real life

doing my real things

till I heard you say my name again-

in that way only you say my name.

How could you?

How could you just talk 

about something so mundane

then say something I've heard

my whole life,

            like my name,

                        in a way

                             to knock me off my stride?

You pulling me into you

with the big 'O' in the center.

Stressing the middle of my name

with your mouth as round 

as the 'O,' 

like you are putting mascara on,

Like an inside joke

that's a secret for me and you

so unique

Like no one else has this name

and you must punctuate each syllable

to say it right

so strained

Like the tension in a cat's cradle thread

so playful

Like my name is gum you pull from your mouth

in a long string and twirl on your finger

so sweet

Like I am wrapped around your finger

so thin

Like I am alone on an island

and you are in a skipper plane

calling down after seeing my S.O.S.

with a pause before and after

so funny

Like an improv trope's comedic banter's timing

so captivating

Like a fishing line released into the lake

and my name is the reel unwinding

and I'm a fish at the bottom of the sea;

I had a reef home till you dared say my name

so alluring

Like I'm a hardboiled detective 

and you're a femme fatale

sitting on my desk in my office

breathy and loud,

pleading for my help

but I took the case

at the first knock

before you, in that skirt, even entered the door

so hushed

Like you are handing me an envelope

with the Best Picture Winner inside

so bewitching

Like a witch's curse spoken

out a candy cane window pane

it's so you

Like you keep talking. You say my name.

My world is quaking. You keep talking.

so chatty

Like you don't understand

so unfair