Allow my ponderous hands to guide yours
And let the tips of your fingers linger
Longer along the depths of my shadowy halls
Until our souls shall meet

Lay your head boyishly on the bones of my collar
And I will rest mine tirelessly on yours
As our temples graze gracefully against one another
Until my thoughts tangle with yours
And we doze to the same dream

Press your chest firmly unto mine
And I will pull you closer
As my lungs sacrifice even the slightest huff of air
Until the spaces between us fade
Until my heart can hear the faintest whispers of your heart
And together, they beat to the same song

1680

Sometimes with the Heart
Seldom with the Soul
Scarcer once with the Might
Few—love at all.

as the sun rises each morning
her hand slowly reaches
into her bedside drawer
searching for a face
to flaunt that day

she was told
it is unsafe for a girl
to walk the earth unguarded
unarmed to face exposure
to unknown threats

surgically and precisely
she plasters on
a new face for a new day
a new shield to protect her barest form
from polluted air and harmful rays

as the moon reveals itself each night
so does she
picking and peeling
parts of a face that were
plastered on too tightly

with each new face
unknowingly, she strips
more and more
parts of raw skin
that were truly hers