Irrawaddy Dolphins and Casual Sex

Like the Irrawaddy dolphin,

I have sex for pleasure

and it ruins me

because I need you to hold me

afterward in the Mekong River.

I need you

to swim alongside me

and let me take a breath

from your blowhole.

It is estimated that 91 of us still exist,

still swim together.

Well, every time I leave

your bed I feel the dead

dolphins lining the river’s bottom. They lived

their lives trying to breathe

in each others exhaled breaths,

trying to buoy themselves to see

the sun rise and fall

on each others backs.