Five Inches

Five inches.
God, five freaking inches
and I was frozen, jaw locked,
petrified and terrified,
stunned and crazed.

Who knew.
Actually, let me repunctuate
that. Who knew?
Because honestly,
I’d like to know.

That tongue that pronounced
those few words within earshot –
I can’t even remember
them now, but they weren’t
for me – that tongue used
to be familiar with mine.

Five inches
and I was stuck
like a tongue to an icy
pole.