I press this daffodilic language into the pages of a book

impress the ludic stamp like a birthmark on my navel

depress the likes of any heartsick stray

oppress the sovereign give-and-take of common decency

Empress of joy unbounded on this veritable nursery of ours

suppress the inclination toward fencing in borders

repress the banshee calls and dog whistles and bomb sirens

compress this sob I clutch in my throat to turn it into song

Decompress this distended belly from the inside out

express the ineffable swelling of the swoonworthy

winepress the portentious juices out of this prayer

Handpress this unadorned visage with mutual pockmarks

letterpress the unordered reliefs into transmutable comforts

flowerpress the bejesus out of me as if an unearthed jewel