Mouthful Of Forevers
by Clementine von Radics
I am not the first person
you loved. You are not the first
person I looked at with a
mouthful of forevers.
We have both known loss like the
sharp edges of a knife. We have
both lived with lips more scar
tissue than skin.
Our love came unannounced in the
middle of the night. Our love came
when we’d given up on asking love
to come. I think that has to be
part of its miracle.
This is how we heal.
I will kiss you like forgiveness,
You will hold me like I’m hope.
Our arms will bandage and we will
press promises between us like
flowers in a book.
I will write sonnets to the salt of
sweat on your skin. I will write
novels to the scar of your nose.
I will write a dictionary of all
the words I have used trying
to describe the way it feels to
have finally, finally found you.
And I will not be afraid
of your scars.
I know sometimes it’s still hard to
let me see you in all your cracked
perfection, but please know:
whether it’s the days you burn
more brilliant than the sun
or the nights you collapse into my
lap, your body broken into a
thousand questions, you are the
most beautiful thing I’ve ever
seen.
I will love you when you are
a still day.
I will love you when you are a
hurricane.