Full

Inside of myself I was shaking
when I first touched you.
My fingers were newborns
as they braved your soft body.

Thoughts of you stole winter’s
breath away from the hillsides
on my way home from all my
unimportant engagements.

I was once a child in an adult’s skin.
I once thought you would dispel
all the nuances of monotony.
Rolled eyes now fill those empty ideals.

My feet are heavier than yours
and I find my spine is made of steel.
You are running; I raise my chin.
I can face the world alone; without you.

In dens of distraction you’ll find
no substance or saturation of life.
I’ll walk down bland streets and
need no human indulgences.

I love life, and all it holds.
The suffering we all shoulder
permeates even my resistance but
I rise to meet and challenge pain.

Where are your forceful hands?
Probably finding pleasures in the
crevices of some shell of a person.
Meanwhile I bask in strength; free.

Babe, I was a fool for too long.
When I thought I needed you to
hold me up I didn’t realize that
in my arms YOU are who thrived.