When I left you were lying frozen
Under blankets of dirty snow, cold and fallow

But now I’m back, and you’re bursting
Brimming with life into the night
Smelling like my childhood, smelling like the side of his neck
Where I pressed my hot face, saying good-bye

I know how soft these fields would be to lie down in
I know exactly how Queen Anne’s Lace feels on my bare skin

Our love cracked like baking bread, so slowly and sweetly
A non-violent resistance, a passive persistence
That split me open and sent me running from this shady soft cage
Where love grows easy and pleasant

I know exactly how he’ll smile when I see him
I know exactly how his back will feel beneath my fingertips when I embrace him
And my chin will be at his shoulder
And I’ll look up, and he’ll reach over
And I’ll reach out
Beyond the homestead
Beyond this heavy, humid familiar

I know how soft these fields would be to lie down in
I know exactly how Queen Anne’s Lace feels on my bare skin

What will we do with our hands
Now that they’ve come unbound