1.

whilst looking across the room to the otherlover
this may be a representation rather than the actual
rub the cleft of a peach against and along a sensitive tendon
at the high point of friction
consume the peach

 

2.

place the tip of a thick marker pen under the middle of the bottom lip
never losing contact
drag the pen down over the chin
momentarily out of sight as it traces skin underneath
down the neck, the sternum, chest
always on the midline
exactly in between
the you of you
down over the stomach, in and out
the dip of the bellybutton

 

let it rest at the top of any genitalia
of any still pressing
lift the pen off and wait for the ink to dry

 

get dressed as usual, and meet the otherlover

 

the trail of ink
implies a direction
a continuation
something to be followed
the otherlover’s gaze is an arrow following its course
headless but stuck and pierced through all the same
the otherlover will imagine you split open
the possibilities of you being split open
the skin as the largest genital organ
that all parts of you touch all parts of you
that you are continuous

 

3.

co-ordinating via timetables left highlighted in bus shelters
you will begin to take the same bus
each day you will sit in the same seat
on your way to work
on your way home from work

 

the otherlover sits a few rows behind you
or in front of you
but always in the same seat on the same bus
on their way to work
on their way home from work

 

you will not face each other
you will not see each other

 

but each day as the bus reaches a certain point on it’s journey
you will both begin to silently mouth a set of words

 

‘A-THICK-STRATIFIED-SQUAMOUS-EPITHELIUM
LIPS-ANTERIORLY-CHEEKS-LATERALLY
PALATE-SUPERIORLY-TONGUE-INFERIORLY

 

DEGLUTITION IS SWALLOWING’

 

on the few occasions when someone unknowingly sits in your seat
or the seat of the otherlover
it is the duty of each of you
to weep

 

4.

in this instance, the otherlover must be in agreeance
a space that is practical but not intimate or overly personal
is necessary
this is not an act of complicity, it is not an engagement
but an unspoken negotiation of space

 

it is best if both partners maintain a state of
withheld eye contact
to minimise risk
to create a barrier

 

first you must weigh yourself
and specifically parts of yourself
you must map your weight distribution
it is not as simple as just separating
or spreading
limbs
but when you have divided yourself
successfully
match the number of parts to cable ties
or other restraints or slings or various
things that will hold you

 

project the shape of you
onto the ceiling
the points of attachment
a constellation

 

drilling holes accordingly
hang ropes or
sturdy wires

 

in the daytime
to minimise risk
have the otherlover pantomime
a bedtime ritual where
when they are tucked into bed
rested as if asleep
you will rest above them
suspended and asleep in reflection

 

each pantomime of a somnambulant movement
carries the possibility of danger
when one moves towards
the other must move away

 

5.

a number of otherlovers
including yourself
can congregate in the compartments
of a revolving door
for a group session

 

within the revolving door
a number of otherlovers
including yourself
can enact a fast
or slow
dance

 

each push will affect
the dance
any one person
can slow it down
or speed it up

 

it is safe
to press up against
the various glass panels
or the central shaft

 

though you must remember
that impacts are cumulative
that there is a knock on effect
that you must be careful of
and with
your feet

 

6.

the otherlover must be in the waiting room
when you arrive for your appointment

 

you will sit for some time casually reading a magazine
occasionally you will cough into a tissue

 

when you are called in for your appointment
get up
and  drop your tissue in the bin
on your way to the door

 

as you pass through the room
the otherlover will get up
and move over to the chair
you have recently vacated
the otherlover will take the chair for their own
sitting in the dip made by your body
sitting in the warmth left by your body

 

after your appointment is over
on your way out
you will notice that
the otherlover is no longer there

 

glancing in the bin
you will notice that
the tissue is also missing
from its place

 

7.

if it is possible
buy the house next door to the otherlover’s
or if it is possible
the otherlover can buy the house next to yours
the gardens must overlook in some way
such as a line of sight into theirs
from your bathroom
not when you are bathing but when you stand

 

at various midnights
but always and only when
the other is out
not outside their house
but somewhere else entirely
on some other engagement
or long errand

 

you will go into the garden
you will lay a towel or a blanket down
by the swingset

 

you will pretend to be or you will be a teenager
in that clumsy nervous nonsexual way
of losing your virginity
you undress and lay against the bottom of the slide
and lift your pelvis to meet the otherlover
as if the otherlover was the sky
or the swing that is moved by the breeze