i thought you were
my once upon a time

then
my happily ever after

how small
those seem now

as if loving you
could be contained
by one beginning
one ending

one life

i think i have known you
in bodies
neither of us remembers

and when this one is done
i will know you again

you could arrive
with another face
another name
eyes nothing like these

and still

something in me
will stop

recognition
older than remembering

my body going quiet
where it usually
keeps watch

i will know
the pattern of your breathing

the place between us
where our weight balances

your hand will reach
for mine

and mine
for once
will not calculate
what happens next

you will apologize
too carefully

and i will know
the machinery

the part of you
that still expects love
to come with a debt

i will forgive you
before you have finished

you will do
the same

maybe a soul
is the place in us
that stops
defending

you without me
would be reckless

me without you
would be easy

give me
the complication

the friction
of two people
perfectly capable
of leaving

who don’t

give me the tug of war
the rope burning
through both our palms

let us pull

against every instinct
that tells us
to let go first

until everything false
comes loose

until there is nothing
but us
left to win

burn me down
to whatever
cannot burn

i will meet you there

and when this body
finally forgets
how to hold you

find another

i will be that stranger
who looks at you
one second too long

you will have
different eyes

i will have
different hands

but when you put yours
inside mine

something ancient
will recognize
what remains