Pulling Away

Talk to me. But better yet,
Talk to yourself. Listen
To the words your body
Resists and just wait,
Let the syllables rest
In your armpits and nostrils
And in the webby secrets
Between your fingers. Wait
To feel all that you know
Rearranging itself in you,
Declaring its identity in
Your cells—something
Forever changeable, needful,
And most of all, my friend,
Valuable to me and to you.

–Shaun Perkins