When you asked if I would wait for your English

Your body offends me with its closeness
Broken by my lack of Portuguese
Our knees have touched and sometimes
We hold hands.
We’ve embraced and I was surprised —
You were comfortable in my arms.
The distance between us with its thickets
Of nouns, pronouns, and unruly verbs
Will only be crossed step by step
With each more precious than the one before.

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