TOUCHING SHADOWS

What kind of garden bares no fruit?

The kind that grows its flowers out of its spine

The Kind that lays on its back and lets unholy things use its body as a bridge

The Kind that has legs in the sky

And Not the kind you kneel to pray with

The kind that reminds the devil that he likes red

The kind whose toes are painted in his exact favorite shade

You’re here making a shadow

Asking my body to contort to your touch.

Making honey out of my weakened limbs

Tasting a storm

Before asking it what it wants to be named

Or who died to give it life?

You’re here making a shadow.

Telling me with your fingers that I belong to you.

That I am creation in its purest form

You remind me that I was conjured on the 7th day.

That creator rested after

For thousands of years

You remind me that I move when you tell me to

That my body is so flexible

That it bends and breaks every time you touch the right spot

You never miss.

It was you who installed them in the first place

You make magic out of my moans

And moments where mountains

Find themselves flattened on my chest

Decorated to match your eyes

Yearning for your touch

You remind me that your eyes are full of sky

That you can make it rain whenever you feel like

That my thighs they part to the scent of your presence

That you’ve chased me in every single one of my past lives

And have millions of years to make up for

Before your shadow is all that’s left…

You ask me to swallow my butterflies

While you trace your name on the lining of my throat

And I do

You ask me to halt the streams

And make them cum to your command and I do

You ask my heart to whisper your name

And my body suspended itself in the air

Just so the sky could hear it too

And I do

You ask me if I’m scared

And I am

No one touches me like you

Not like your shadow

That asks my bones for permission to move

Every time it wants

And they do

They’d never say no

They’d never pretend like they don’t yearn for your hands

Like you yearn for this canvas to paint

And place them on

You tell me I’m safe here

And I’m not foolish enough to believe you

I never was

It’s too quiet here

There’s not enough chaos for this to be safe

There’s only you and your shadow

You tell me that I am so damn fine that the sun waits for me to wake up

To tell it how to shine

And it does

Waiting for the flicker of your fingers

To remind it that it holds light

You tell me that I could turn you to stone

And I know

You and your shadow

I remember that I’m magic every time I allow someone to look at me

And they forget to move after

You ask me what stories I hold in these bones

And I ask you to cut me open and read

I look you in the eyes while you make home of my body

I can’t help myself

You hold my face and demand attention

Every stroke feels like one step into the fire

But I am always willing to burn under God’s star

Under his favorite sun

You say I'm not supposed to want this

But I do

I want you to Remember every line

Scribble your name everywhere

This is your manifesto

Everyone will see this when you disappear

This is the last thing you need to breathe for

This is your final act

This is your shadow’s keepsake

I turn my face and roll my eyes

And bite my lips

And you tighten your grip

Leaving prints for me to find when I finally awake

You take and you take

You take poetry from between my teeth

You’re so hungry for my flesh

For my attention

You’ve always been too beautiful to be ignored

Specially while

You’re here making shadows on my walls.

There’s no one else in this room

Or on this planet

You froze them all so we could have the moon to ourselves

So the stars could dance on my skin uninterrupted

So you could touch every cell that makes me

And not be disturbed

So my breath could be the only music in the space

You speak so loudly without ever moving your mouth

Call me grace every time you blink God onto eyelids

So someone could witness this magic

This act of defiance

You call me beautiful with every glance

And suspend me above the ocean

So it could serve as mirror

So I could watch

With nothing but the whites of your eyes,

You write every love letter your hands forgot to participate in

Paralyzed by my touch you blink a single tear on my chest

Blessed to have carved me open

To see that lifetimes later

I still love you enough to build universe out of your smile

You thank me while I touch you to your demise

While I tell God your name

The one that no one knows but us three

While every drop of water drips from your body

While I separate you from your shadow

I tell you I love you

And I tell you to come back

In another million years

And I’ll be here

Making shadows to wait with me.