memory
it is impossible to fit all this into me
tattoo the orange-brown gradients, curvature of the wave rock onto dark irises
capture the cold sun striking our bodies in gold-rimmed permanence
lace my lips with the ease of yesterday’s laughter
carve into fingertips the hollows that granite ingrains
freckle skins with the very stars transparent skies breathe
collect the unending seas, earth, heavens in the breadth of my embrace
already yesterday’s fireplace warmth is seeping from thickly cocooned bodies,
dissipating into thin threads of wintry air that form tangled snares,
carefully pocketed away
they catch us when we least expect to be,
drag us through the tunnel of flawed memory