At the very start
when different was still frightening
instead of needed,
I questioned
an existence between two bodies that could be so unflawed.

I wondered if
I could ever teach you
to read between
the way I fragment everything.

I wondered if you could be the soft
that blurred my edges
into something manageable
and less dangerous to the touch.

In doubting, I found
that I could only adore
the way you licked at my wounds
until tongue swollen with cure
you lost the ability of speech
and had to define your love for me
with just two hands
that fit my skin perfectly.

In fast forwarding to present tense
I now climb to you under covers
to find sanctity in slipping between sheets
where your heart beats,
and when speaking
I have discovered that the way your name
forms in my mouth
is like
opening my lungs to take
my very first breath.

And while waiting to exhale
I think I may not ever
comprehend a love that is so pure.