to this, i resign
and i will lie motionless,
as november nights lovingly peel my skin.

strip me down,
i am sick of feeling callouses.
i am sick of my sheets
licking all these wounds clean.
i am sick of waiting for tenderness
to grow from my open sores
so strip me down —
this is as loving as it can get.
to this, i resign —
to the mercy of lonely, november nights.

so hold me down,
a pillow on my face —
petunias in my throat:

this is as soft as i can be.

peel me open. peel me raw,
and beneath it all, perhaps, i'll stumble
on something that finally
looks like home.