At the touch of my fingers
your lips swelled like a wave breaking,
or a rose opening to kiss the whole earth.
They devoured my sad heart as if
it were some sweet thing from the bakery.
They caressed the air and
a new heart grew in me,
offering itself to you.

Do you know the power of your lips?
They could burn my body;
they could make my bones a white prison
for my new, wild heart,
and whisper the sound of steel into it.

But your lips are constant as grass--
resting under a season,
singing into another,
breathing sky along the horizon,
kissing prayers into my flesh.