I waited a long time for him
for his welcoming warmth and burning passion
I loved the feeling of his caressing touch
that gently nudged up against exposed skin
lingering thoughts of a curious love

that's what it was like in the beginning
gentle
warming
conscious of the nature of fragility
but his energy started burning and I was left with
a red expanse of tainted flesh and
the rising temperatures of boiling hatred
that put me away, locked up, waiting for the
numbing relief of winters touch.