Instead of wedding vows for the start of a new relationship
there should be promises for forgiveness.
Say, I will be your rock in deep waters, no matter how much
you wish to stray into shallower streams. Say, I will love the good
and the bad, as one learns to love both the face
the mirror gives them, and the face they present to others.
Say, Iwill accept every callous and bruise that threatens to mar
the perfection of your healing journey, no matter how long it takes you
to reach the end destination, no matter how many grenades
you lob at me in the process.
I will forgive you-
we will learn how to occupy our own skins at once together and separately
in a way that makes sense to both of us.
And just as shooting stars speak in their own language
I will do my best to become fluent in yours
mo matter how many apologies must be translated
from me to you, or you to me.
Say, I will take your fingerprint instead of a ring this time
and keep it with me always so I can remember
that both of us may commit crimes of the heart
but at the end of the day, they’re just that:
crimes of the heart, because we learned to love
with bodies too empty for fullness
unless it came in the form of another.