and suddenly i am galvanized into fear

self-confidence offended,

reassurance dissolved.

your tongue, your eyes,

your hands,

chisels to the stone

upon which i've come to

rely.

hundreds of thousands

of minutes spent

building,

protecting,

guarding,

undone in a matter of

moments,

the contact of lips,

the brushing of skin.

you have undone

all that

i have worked so hard

to temper.

they are all such relative terms

proximity is merely measurement

cold hard facts

things that arouse scientists

and others with reason to wear

sterile white coats

an inch a foot a meter

just mortal ways of understanding

here to there

and there to where

but even dung beetles can measure

distance with their frequent

pauses from transporting their

excremental gold

thigh to thigh

elbow to elbow

the measurement is minute

but the distance is gargantuan

hollow hollow

through and through

the wind can still nestle between us

This is the Only Escape

oblivious.

a screaming siren adjacent to ear

would barely grasp my attention.

but even i can see the unadulterated beauty

which pulls like magnets to a compass

in you.

there are others far more perceptive,

with bright eyes full of wonder,

drinking in all they could possibly discover.

you cannot stay blind

forever.

It Cannot Be Left Alone

it must be suppressed

before it will(and it will)

consume.

but how does one unhinge

a jaw and swallow it whole

if one was not fortunate enough

to have been born a snake?