Whole

I will 
kiss my lover
until my back arches, and place
his hands against my sternum
in case 
he needs something to beat back into his
palms
because
the only remedy for this kind of
fear
is softeness
is clemency
is warm blankets
is lips pressed against one another, making
treaties 
truces
armistice admidst
earthquakes and bloodbaths

I will grin wildly
into the moon and the faces of strangers
into the warpaths and the cynics
into the caveats 
and know my teeth
are shiny pearls,
two rows of reckoning
ready 
to bite down

I will tell that girl over there
she looks like Cleopatra with that hair
and she's so pretty
and I hope she has a good night
and I don't care
if she says something nice back
because we are sisters

I will plant herbs
the kind that can 
conjure and kill
or fix broken bones
and lick your wounds for you
and season your whiskey
and give you
better dreams
the kind of dreams
that would never hold you hostage
the way
they do around here
with their big lights and big signs and big buildings and big promises
because the only remedy
for a future
is the knowing of small significant things

I will lay down
and let you stack the stones
one after the other
over my ribcage, my throat, my wrists and fingers and
I will weep for you
so you don't have to

I will hold you 
and I will hold you tighter
until your bones are put back
where they are supposed to be
and your flesh is 
whole, a
patchwork of mending
and proof of forest fires
I will carry you out of here
if you cannot walk
I will let you have my ankles
my joints
the good parts,
whatever there is left
in case you are hungry
on the way home

I will make laughter great again
and again, elation
intention
and the soothing of hollow
places
and vacancies

I will make this whole.