184.

sit in the scorch with me

the sunburned window by my bed, and kiss me

like a spray of freckles

I may sweetly sweep your lips like lilac dusk today, but

what if I fall on you tomorrow like noon with no shadows
what if I hurt your eyes

promise me

that you will swim nose-deep into a green wave with me

when I am all sleepless storms and tangles

you say and you say and you say

that you are not going anywhere

but will you go with me

up between crags and cliff shards, bloody-footed

when you see tears in my eyes, because some days

I just need the sky in my mouth

will you go with me past the tree line

into the blind forest fog when I wake from a dream

and swear I heard my silence somewhere, finally,

and I need to find it

I know we cannot make each other fine, but
maybe we can make each other

grow, like the moss of you, the brown and the velvet

that spreads down my arms, fills my skin

like the vines in my breath

the fecund heart in me that you keep inhaling

what I mean is
tell me you are here

when I am soft enough to touch and when I am on fire

and I will help you find the love you were looking for