He told me my scars weren't beautiful
And I told him that no one could ever really admire a masterpiece
Without taking a few steps back

i think back to the day his voice found
mine in our second semester astronomy
class; i asked him         what his favorite
p l a n e t s were and he responded with
"your eyes" and every day that started with
tracing         g a l a x i e s on his back and
coffeeflavoredkisses ended with a three am
phone call from him reminding me that he
misses me, he's t h i n k i n g about me, he
loves me; and my heart   fluttered but it's
filled with moths instead of b u t t e r f l i e s
because i didn't want love       i just wanted
someone to bend my reality and explore
my universe; he was a grounded boy but
he was not the astronaut i was looking for

you and i share the same skin and
because of that, i will keep you safe.

do not be afraid of your chest tightening,
i will help you breathe.
do not be afraid of failing,
i will help you succeed.
i will remind you that your scars
and your insecurities
and your emotional tremors
do not define who you are as a person.
i will let you get angry and
i will make you cry to show you
that it’s okay to be human.
i will give you space.
i will let you venture and explore
and expand your mind for
as long as you need to.

i will appreciate that you are able to forgive
even though i hate that you are too forgiving.
i will love the fact that you drink orange juice
out of the carton even though everyone else
hates it.
if you want to drop out of college and
become a starving artist on the streets of
a city that you’ve never stepped foot in
until now,
then i will support you entirely.

i will paint beautiful pictures in your mind
that your hands can gracefully translate
to paper so the entire world can see you
the way i see you —

as intelligent,
as interesting,
as important.

you and i share the same skin and
because of that, i will keep you safe.
you were mine before you were
anyone else’s, and it will
always be that way.