we touch the skin

soft to the touch

the earth, roughed

with impressions of us

two feet on its surface

or sitting, or holding

we touch the skin

i brace myself against

the embracing

declare my love

again in the morning

when the dawn wakes and the war wages

pressing, shaken

carving, scraping, caving, scratching

the surface

we touch the skin

what sense can be made of

forced distance

fortified against

the truth, unshakable,

of coexistence

of showing up in bodies

and claiming land

instead of claiming kin

we touch the skin

the same sun that

blooms the seed

welcomes sight to what

darkness has hidden

invites delineation

or illumination

choosing what to take

and what to take in

we touch the skin

soft to the touch

the earth, roughed

with impressions of us

two feet on its surface

or sitting
or holding
or dancing
or warring
or walking
or lying
or running
or driving
or pausing
or moving
or making
or grooving
or toiling
or resting
or waiting
or floating
or aching

we touch the skin