i only loved you when
you called me by my
given name and
when you'd fish for
my heartbeat that
was stuck in between
the space of you and me.
so we jumped off of
sand mounds to see if we could
fly, to feel freedom in the
simplest of ways,
and we played in delicate
wired cages, like
if we wandered off too far
we would get lost.
it was almost dark when you
double dog dared me to
jump into this with open eyes
and without hesitation,
because you know i'd never do that.


but i did to prove i could.