We may be made of pixels,
but before he leaves for work,
he leans over my still sleeping body
and touches his lips to my forehead.

If this world were Disney,
he would be what wakes me up.
But I must be in a different realm
because I stay asleep,
dreaming in a dream
of kisses I don’t know
I’m already under.

In this reality
he heads into seamless sunrise
while I wake to Dog
nosing herself under my head,
burrowing into my body like blanket,
a different kind of kiss, too many.

Cat weaves
in
and
out
of each step.
The three of us move as one.
Dog impatiently sits. Cat meows.
Wet food plops. Hard food clinks.
Mouths crunch.
Coffee percolates.
I sit at home office
in my pajamas
wearing an engagement ring.

If this a video game,
I get all the coins.

I feel like a princess—
how nature sings in step with me
and I have my own prince.

But this is not Mario Brothers
Here, I only get
one life.
Here,

I haven’t even showered yet.
Still I feel like I’ve been standing
in the rain.
Maybe I have?

Later, in the car,
he takes one hand off the steering wheel
and places it on my leg.
I place my hand over his
and feel something
deep
in my ribs.

I used to want to unzip the sky.
But what’s real is what’s real
where it’s felt.

I’ve never not felt what I feel
when I am awake.
And when I’m sleeping,
I dream of feeling.

I want to nose under this blanket, like Dog.
I want to Cat into each gigabyte.
Weave this reality shut.

I don’t want the red pill anymore.
I like it here too much.