we leave the crumbs of our breakfast
on the windowsill, where we can watch
the ants arrive, and carry them away,
to their hills at the base of the maple trees.
they can't talk to us, but we can sense
their tiny gratitudes.
skin against skin, and tongues against
tongues, the glow from our faces is just
enough for the moths to recognize, for
them to want to dance around our heads.
they bask in the light of our love, and we
know they feel it too.
i live to see you smile, the kind of smile
that shines so brightly, like the way a leaf
beetle's shell does, when the sun decides
to hit it in a way that's exactly right.
they don't notice their iridescence, or how
perfect they are.

cherry pits held in my cheek
blackberry juice stains on my teeth
sticky heat and the tartness of love
the golden honey glow of your peach fuzz
the taste of summer lingers on the tip of my tongue
august sun fills me up and i come undone

i see your finger wrapped around the trigger of your imaginary 74
i feel the empty pit inside your stomach you scramble so tirelessy to fill
i hear your muffled cries hidden behind your toughboy masquerade
i taste the bitterness of your sorrow
and the familiar burn of whiskey straight from the bottle

i want to reach inside your stone-cold chest
and cradle in my hands the warm fragile heart i know you hide
you're a baby bird nestled in a bed of tangled thorns
and i'm the little girl wishing to nurse you to health in a shoebox lined with cotton

i see you in brass knuckles on soft shaking hands
and in leather belts digging into sore red skin
i love you more than you could ever know
or even begin to understand

push my face into
your chest, let my nose and eyes
and throat and shoulders

dissolve into you,
inside you i will be safe,
we can be so whole

i'll tuck you in bed
i'll make you honey on toast
my love is endless