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in the long grass
it smells like peppermints
and we lay down amongst it
pulling it over us like blankets

the field that is stretched out before us
is an ocean that hums
like oxygen in lungs
ebbing and flowing

the sunlight is your hands on my skin
warm liquid moving through the air

high above us
the branches are breaking

there are birds up there too
they talk to each other
in their foreign languages

we do not talk
but there are things that are implied
in the movements of our bodies

we are aware of
the way bumblebees move from flower to flower, tenderly
the sound a blackbird makes searching for worms in the honey-coloured leaves
how the tree above us looks like a big fluffy dog
each other's lips

hours pass like this
time is measured by the shadows our bodies make

it is that time of day now

an almost-darkness
spreads through us
like a slow tide

light and dark become tangible
we can feel their presence
moving all around us

we lie beneath the trees
looking at the giant dog

he bends down towards us
and licks our faces clean