Keeping Safe
Love, you cough and cause a ruckus--
lungs flushing,
heart chiming,
all a murmur for mercy.
Honeysuckle blood, drawn by a bee
and spilled like wine.
I cannot mop you up
I cannot still your shaking bones
or hush your pain.
I cannot fill your stomach--
you must remain
empty.
I cannot be clean veins or a
working organ, sealed with an acid kiss
and slipped between your ribs.
Love, I am
feathers sopping
and drenched in bile
and I cannot do a thing for you.
But if you say it helps,
I will hold your
clammy hands, lean
against your fever
and keep your lips
safe.
If you say it helps,
I will stay away from train tracks and
I will stay
with you.