Quietly, she said
                    (you don’t know
                             how beautiful
                             you are
            I laughed,
                    because I was frightened.)
as she led me,
           through a part of town,
                    I only knew
                    in name.

Quietly, she said
                    (and we sneaked,
                             passed her mother, and
                             a dog that
                                         did
                                               not care.)
as I told her
                    there was
               n  o  w  h  e  r  e
                  I’d rather be.

Quietly, she said
                    (while washing my hair,
                                in a sink,
                                        in a restaurant,
                    I did not eat at.)
and I said,
          “they call this a
                     ***** bath”
and
          she just smiled.

Quietly, she said
                    (I’ll be here,
                           always,
                    should you need me.)
and my tongue
               weighed heavy, so
                              I just kept nodding.