The Necklace of Dirty Legs

When baking my heart
With your bundled warmth,
Pouring you into
The willing contours of my body,
Or smelling your night’s mouth
Deliciously foul,
I began being made up
Of you!

When I kissed your knuckle’s folds,
Sipped your cold toes,
Tossed promises into the fire
Of your cries,
Or turned ugly
To earn your expensive smiles,
You became a limb to me
Inseparably attached
To the craving, expansionist borders
Of my body.

While the world was busy
Celebrating the mothers,
I made you my crown,
My trophy,
Putting together the pearls
Of your laughter,
The jewels of your smiles,
Wearing the necklace of your dirty legs
To let you pluck the sky
From these small, bloated shoulders
Soaked in dreams.

Little girl,
You brought me glories far bigger
When you burrowed through me,
Sniffed my daylong body
And said,
‘Daddy, I love that smell!’
Or plunged into me
Every time the world troubled you
Hugging me, wailing,
As if the man
Who fixed small toys
Also mended small hearts.

Now everyday that I spread you
On my chest
And hold you close enough
To smell as myself
Or let you dry from my arms
Dripping with laugher,
How I wish I had
The secret codes,
The Book of Magic
To not let you grow out
Of the valley of my lap
Or the ring of my arms.

But sweetheart
I know, one day you will have grown
Stealthily, in front of my eyes,
When I am tired shaking off
The denied dusts of time,
When your world will have grown
And mine shrunk,
And you soar like a bird
That I’ve always dreamt of,
When your eyelids
Won’t need my stories,
And my legs aren’t your bed,
I will ask for just one more day
For you to rebelieve
In the old, innocent lie,
That your daddy is the strongest
And is never afraid.