if i have forgotten how to be kind
if i have gone blind to you
it is not because i do not love you
if this distance between us has begun
to pool beneath your skin
and if your knees have forgotten how it feels
to give in
i apologize
if you cannot recall how my fingers swelled
how they lifted your dress with inky press
bold in contrast against the rainy season’s breath
i apologize
if i have wounded you
if all the butterflies that i forged in your stomach
pour from open breast
then flee for window then cease to impress
i apologize
perhaps my mouth on your naked flesh
my teeth on nape of neck a pinch
a lingering kiss on bared thigh will win your best smile
your love or an impossible caress
and if not that then what?
i fear whatever moons left have already been plucked
whatever stars remain have already been sucked
of all their romance
what offering can i submit?
what favor can i give but all the tea in china
to fill in the endless sea between us
and waves to bruise the leaves
broken on an oolong breeze
and tidal swells in a tiny porcelain cup.