you bring me water
silent yet articulate
then you shy away
implicitly forbidden
and the premise is unbroken
unaddressed but implied
expressionless understanding
sneaks up on
inferred taboo
you make a retraction
a clenched invoice
tight-lipped about it
ubiquitously accepted
tacit communication
a curtain drawn over
in phrases not yet stated
without acknowledgement
intimate restraint
purely carnal
mute regret
First published in "Selection" 2018