Maggie Bowyer

How I Keep My Hands Warm Lately

Sliding them under his shirt 
Scratching up and down his back 
Pressing my cold fingers against his kidneys,
Taking my surface temperature to see 
It’s twenty degrees cooler than my core.
Pausing, breathing in for four seconds,
Out for six 
Making fists then
Relaxing my muscles millimeter by millimeter 
Reminding myself what year it 
                           what house I am in
          who I am with 
threading my fingers with his

Maggie Bowyer (they/he) is a poet, cat parent, and the author of various poetry collections including Allergies (2023) and When I Bleed (2021). They are a co-host of the podcast Baked and Bookish. They have been featured in The Abbey Review, Chapter House Journal, The Elevation Review, The South Dakota Review, Wishbone Words, and more. They were the Editor-in-Chief of The Lariat Newspaper, a quarter-finalist in Brave New Voices 2016, and a Marilyn Miller Poet Laureate. You can find their work on Instagram and TikTok @maggie.writes.