my fingers explore
new territory that is
a vessel of flesh

i remember what it was like to call you mine
to feel your breath against my neck
and to be able to drag my fingers across your soft skin

i remember brushing your hair away from your shoulder,
making way for my lips to kiss your collarbone

and i remember what it was like to see you cry,
the night you told me that you loved me
but had to go

i was lost for awhile,
until i moved on
made my way around a circle of lovers
giving away parts of myself

it's been two summers
but my heart still remembers you

wind shrieks in the night
ripping through branches of trees
wreckage left when gone

don't apologize
you have your rights and i mine
can't we coexist?

burdens i carry
heavy loads weigh on my soul
and they bring me down

frogs leap and take flight
lily pads shift under weight
the still surface breaks

there is this stigma
this preconceived notion of
sexuality