Valentines: “Ode to Crispy Salmon Skin” by River 瑩瑩 Dandelion

Ode to Crispy Salmon Skin

the salt sprinkled delicately across
your scaleless sheath makes my mouth
draw cups of saliva   your tangerine flesh
clings to you like this moment is all that matters. 

you know exactly what you need to thrive
that’s what i love about you   not too much oil
no room for co-cooked veggies, no water   sizzle
with the softest drizzle of slick avocado sweat. 

i know you’re willing to go steady   your oil
splatters, yes, let’s keep our boundaries healthy.
your commitment makes me come closer   sit
right here   on my aching tongue.

you swivel effortlessly   to the tides
of my indebted hands   you’re a delicacy
for the thick-hearted eaters like me
who live their days chasing dreams 

i know i can come home to you in the eves.
you thaw ice in record time, cradle
iodized salt like your skin alone can cure
wounds      you’re the ocean itself 

          oh, excuse me, i mean freshwater.

make me blush   tell me, with your exterior
so close to mine, how cold are the winters
in iceland? has your skin thickened
from frigid times? can i warm you up? 

how was your body created with the miracle
of swimming upstream when it’s so much easier
to go with what we’ve known? with your flesh
in my mouth, you tell me, i don’t need pizza 

dairy is for the wicked   you tell me, i don’t need you even
who i’ve been searching for is myself   your seasoned crust
crunches, then disintegrates in my caverns   when i reach my fork
for seconds, eyes decidedly in heaven, you say, that’s enough.  

i ask you, stay with me another night, stretch these minutes
into hours, these hours into a lifetime   won’t you be mine?
no, you say, i’m only temporal, take this mirror & reflect
your own hunger   just like that         you’re gone

i’ve devoured you whole         all i have is me, awakening.

About River 瑩瑩 Dandelion

River 瑩瑩 Dandelion, formerly known as Huiying Dandelion Chan, is a practitioner of ancestral medicine through writing poetry, teaching, energy healing, and creating ceremony. As a poet, he writes to connect with the unseen and unspoken so we can feel and heal. As a healer, he is a trained reiki practitioner who helps clients move through transition and transformation. River also facilitates creative writing workshops, where participants connect with their own inner and collective power. A Tin House Resident, Lambda Literary Fellow, and Kundiman Fellow, River is the author of remembering (y)our light, an illustrated poetry chapbook.  River's work is published in Best New Poets (2021), The Offing, Bellevue Literary Review, The Margins, Asian American Journal of Psychology, and elsewhere. He has performed and presented his work globally from the Dodge Poetry Festival to the University of Havana. For more, visit: riverdandelion.com or connect on IG: @rememberingourlight and Twitter: @rivertransforms.