31

No. V

mixed media on paper, 2016

11" x 15"

(detail)

I must know you

if you choose to walk so close to me

to trail me like a shadow that does not break

to live in undefined proximity

I must wear you

if you stain my skin routinely 

soak through the porous, dense layers

mark my mind's absence with your presence

I must remember you

though I mustn't

I must forget you

but I mustn't

however, before I must or mustn't do either

or any other for that matter

I must forgive you
yes, I must forgive you

I must surrender you

if I am to heal you

perhaps then, this weight will lift

itself weightless

and these thirty-one callouses

will have run their course
and you will return to who you were
before I began to count your shortcomings
before I decided I no longer wished to know you.

I must know you know
that you are enough.

Because you are
and I am 

enough. 

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