windfall. in bed
I remember those first sleep overs
Her apartment was small, but the bedroom, or just the bed rather, seemed to go on forever
I fell in love with laying with her, our bodies keeping us warmer than the covers
and when the night came and time to rest
We huddled together, our limbs intertwined
Her head on my chest
made me feel stronger than my frame would suggest
my arms around her
holding
a lifetime to come
being
in just this moment
She would drift into the deep
signaling her sendoff with a pulse that ran through her
body jolting its one last grasp as she let go of the day
There in the stillness I would stay
indulging in the contrails of her hair
the romance of her neck
our rise and fall with each breath
I would whisper
practicing the words too soon to say
“I love you, Kate”
Then wait,
curling into our embrace,
