In the bath
Through steam and smoke
A poem broke softly the surface of my mind
Mimicking our limbs
As they rose from the water
More exotic birds’ slender necks
Than knees and elbows
I held my breath
Heartbeat slowing
Held my mind
Thoughts slowing
Hoped I might hold time
Summon these seconds
To dissolve on my tongue like
Sugar cubes
I lost the poem
I saw it float out the window
From the corner of my eye
As you held me with your gaze
You held me in the moment
You held the moment out to me
To be unwrapped experienced internalized
You cut down a battle in my mind to sow a field of wheat and wild flowers
Who know only the dirt and rain and wind
Nothing of time or thoughts or fear
From this field five days later
I see the place I had created from, for years
Fear, and
My inclination
For pain
You held me with your gaze
So that I might discover
In the space between our green eyes
The potential to create from a place of pleasure