it makes it's home with depth
nestled in the layers of my skin
there is no warmth or comfort
to be found in such a barren place
people take and people touch
and to you what is consent

you know and learn and teach alike
I see and watch and burn in light
I try not to lose myself
in all that you are and become
and that which I wish to be
you waste nothing
not time or emotion
while I scavenge for scraps of love
among the nothing that I am

it weaves it's secrets into my hair
just as it traces sweetened memories
into the swirls of my fingers and toes
so that it shall remain a part of me
even after long in it's leaving
though I pray it never leaves me