There is a spy in your house
of love. A stain on your sheets.
Snarled in your hair, tattooed

on your arms and legs. A scent,
trapped in your senses. A sound
so quiet, you turn your head

to listen. It hesitates before hanging
up. Parked in front of your house,
across the street, at the corner.

In a trenchcoat and sunglasses;
an uncommonly common disguise.
It’s the lump in your throat that

won’t be swallowed, subtle tremor
in your hands, voice. Every suspicious
look you’ve ever given, received.

Gregg Shapiro is the author of nine books including the poetry chapbook Refrain in Light (Souvenir Spoon Books, 2023). Recent/forthcoming lit-mag publications include The Penn Review, RFD, Gargoyle, Limp Wrist, Mollyhouse, Impossible Archetype, confetti, and Panoplyzine, as well as the anthology Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology (Madville, 2023). An entertainment journalist, whose interviews and reviews run in a variety of regional LGBTQ+ and mainstream publications and websites, Shapiro lives in South Florida with his husband Rick and their dog Coco.