i know a man who
has been radiating warmth since the day
we met--
i know this because i've seen it
spill out of his chest, gutted, like
sunlight through curtains.
like a massacre that speaks softly.

i've watched that light
land on my skin so timidly,
almost without notice.
i've felt it tread gently
across my ribcage and
my heart stop beating
whenever it got close.
to give in to man is to
ask for mercy;
a different kind of
surrender.

and mercy.
that man has had
my heart ever since.