If someone gave me the mountains
In all their grounded confidence
In all their bullheaded majesty
If someone handed me the key to the earth
I would stand at the precipice
In the hovering cold of winter
And scream at the moon
For my sky-scraping city
If someone took me to bed
With that unstitching tenderness
With those painless pushes
With those roving eyes
I would hold myself together
I would hide under the covers
Making a fort of warmth and fear
Wishing only to rest
And if someone opened their chest
That I might see what was caged within
If they pulled back the skin
And told me what was theirs is mine
I would bring out my torch
And venture into the ventricles
But I would not, could not
Open up my own the same
But in you come crashing
Staggeringly solid, ravishingly real
You are not my savior
And you do not ask me to save you
I watched you once with weariness
Twice I turned you away
Three times I let you slip past
But now you're here, and you say you'll stay
The cloud of your eyes
The bluegreygreen of mystification
Leads me into the heart of my city
Leads me to sleep soundly beside you
Leads me to open, slowly, slowly
And you are embodied scrutiny
And you are embodied certainty
And I think I'm falling in love with you
(If someone brought me anything
If someone took me anywhere
If someone opened a door
I'd wish for you on the other side)
