Do we ever really fall out of love?
No matter how badly the affair ended
some tender moment dominates the memory;
a high-water-mark of our feeling.

It's love's flood that we remember,
not low boredom, tedium, or anger.

Facing
catching breath
with sudden skin  
hands pull in
never close enough
with lips unclosed
not unclothed
we shouldn't
but we could
oh how we would
and why?
for who we were
there
see that foggy window
long gone now
where behind
our shut eyes
we warm belied
the leather cold

Our hands,
like roots of trees -
each finger, each tendril
gripping like stitches
in clothing.

My arm wrapped around your belly as
I map my way around your body
with tender traces,
with delicate whispers.

Your hair feels like a sea of silk;
A faint smell of showers
is all I can sense.

My heart beats behind yours.
I track the time with the
synchronicity of our beating.
Hours, minutes, and seconds
all lose meaning,
melting into a singular point in time.

All I know is you.
The map of you I carefully carved
on your
blank canvas.

The world fades away
as mist during a blinding sun.
All that is left are
two hearts,
a map,
a cartographer, and
you.

I am lost at sea.
This moment is my anchor.
You are my compass.

I’d trace your spine until you felt the love from my fingertips burn hotter than the pain shrieking in your bones.

I’d fiddle with your lamp until it was the perfect shade of indigo.
I’d keep watch for you in the dark and shield you in the blinding light.
I’d run you baths that made you feel pure.

you’d never sleep alone,
unless you wanted to.
even then,
I’d be sitting against your door
with a glass of tea,
fruit,
and your pills.

I’d write you pathetic sonnets.
I’d sing you off-key songs.
I’d read you poetry that brought us both to tears.
I’d draw you stupid doodles and try to make you laugh.

you’d never be alone
on the miserable floor.
those *******,
with all their relentless,
maddening buzz
wouldn’t be heard over me.
louder,
or more demanding.

I’d feed you Nutella: my very last spoonful.
I’d clean your room as often as you wanted, or never.
I’d take you to bookshops and cafés and nowhere at all.
I’d sit with you and play with your piercings.

you wouldn’t be alone,
staring awake at dawn.
the dark,
it wouldn’t be spent so restlessly.

I wouldn’t quieten my desire.
no.
not this time.

I’d say I’m sorry when I laughed so hard I spit.

I’d love you when you couldn’t love yourself.
I’d care for you when all you saw was waste.
I’d carry you wherever we went and tell everyone you’re mine.