heartbeat

night roulette,
i'm alert before the clock.
she cut him off, she took us all
yet there they lie dreaming
or else murmuring
indistinguishable.
for one night,
a stranger's sleep and weighted arm
might help anchor me
to a mattress, close my lids.
may tenderly erase the florid marks
that single my small body.
the retrospect of shared breath.
slumbering passion, encompass
a frame that scarcely rests.
that needs a heartbeat.