I KNOW

You and I

Witness love

Without changing the way we smile

As a mirror traces a stare

At times our love

Smells like mud

Heats my tongue

And glues my shadow to yours

I stretch across you

As close as skin can fold

Our sweat separated

Worn from our trust

I spin questions

That pull at your comprehension

Torturing for solutions

That we unravel like wool

We sit in cars

Offices and elevators

Licking long vowels

To find the patience of commitment

I know you are a chatterbox

A brimming coffee cup

Raced with ambition

As I settle into poetry and paintboxes

I know you were born

To be outside your head

Inside a deal

Often thicker than our walls

Inside home

We linger over meatballs

Trading the spoon

As we fall into the chair of our history

I look closely

For the spaces between us

Where moments rise and fall away

In our longing

We wear more colour

Even stand taller as we age

Your hand feels heavier

And we share the same bruises

I imagine myself

Weeping into linen

In the face of our aging

When suffering is louder than air

I know two people

Never become one emotionally

In a crisis we make

One choice with two voices

I know

We are kissed by family

As we jump over small stones

Our grandchildren drop on tomorrow

I know

You don't understand

How much our love hurts at times

Like a broken bone waiting to heal

And I know

In the daylight

That we loved each other

Before we met