When the gentle ridges in his lips
would part for me,
++++++++++++++++++++++
and the pretty valleys in his eyes
would wash his misery for me,
++++++++++++++++++++++
and the coral in his cheeks
would twitch twice for me,
++++++++++++++++++++++
and his living hands
would unsmother my words for me,
++++++++++++++++++++++
he whispered that his name
was Navy.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I wanted to walk next to him,
and breathe next to him,
and unsmother him back,
++++++++++++++++++++++
so I stayed
and let my fingers
braid into his grasp.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I gazed with him
at the fleeing rivers.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I lived with him
in his bending arms.
++++++++++++++++++++++
I think of him now
as his hands
that he warmed
with my own.
++++++++++++++++++++++
When the peaks in my mouth
would part for him,
I knew I loved him too,
and whispered my name.