Chapter Text
the first time i lost my grace
i had to learn what thirst & hunger feel like
to name the empty shivers and coarse dryness:
tasting water i could not share with you
i broke an apple with naked human hands
and ate it slowly, sucking the juice until
it was just wet roughness against my tongue.
the first time i lost my grace i discovered
all the aches and turns of a tired body
– pale limbs as tender & malleable as
the youngest branches of elm trees, ankles
as cold & weak as if buried underwater –
but when falling asleep relief fled my flesh,
hushing a silence not filled by your breaths.
and when i brushed humanity for the first time
i longed not for the gentle warmth of light
scattered by clouds, but to have your embrace
teach me the mellow glow of tepid skin against
tepid skin