come, soften and give

it was after the exchange of warm breath on our ears

pressed like a thumb print 

threadbare and fleeting

that i learned tenderness

some nights it pools warm behind my teeth

softening like fruit against the blade

edges of rind frayed with bitterness

we live on borrowed light

thin as a thread

p  u  l  l  i  n  g  it through the eye of each morning

rolling over the horizon

the sun bursts at its seams

trees shudder in turquoise

their leaves brushing the sky

dizzied by the spill of warmth

i fold what hurts 

into tenderness

then into prayer

try and learn how to hold my own pulse 

soft as honeyed skin

a melody threading my ribs

as if sewing could keep us whole