Because I Love You

To the speed of slow, we say.

To the speed of the earth if it forgot to turn.

To the speed of your hand on my cheek as we waltz.

I am a swan, and this is a slow dance, and we are two people in the middle of a moment of stillness, forgetting to worry about the words we say out loud. We are simply revolving, like people do, around an idea that is so square on the shimmering floor far below.

I am an idea, and this is a memory, and we are purple in the shuddering evening, closing our eyes so as not to smell the panic. we are pretending to listen and to laugh, like people do, at words that are spoken without chains.

To the speed of the smell of baking bread.

To the speed of waves swallowing the moon at sunset.

To the speed of slow, we beg.