Obscene

When I said your name, I
made it obscene. Your beautiful name,
the name that sounds like cool water,
was a curse in my mouth. I meant to
say it like light on the edges of clouds,
but it came out filthy. Believe me I
thought about it. I thought about it,
and I decided I would never say your
name again. But I couldn’t do it.
Because the time you said my name,
you made it sound like it never
sounded before. You made it sound
like the day the azaleas bloom. After
the rain, when the colors are so bright,
and the birds fly in and out of the
bushes, that’s what you called me. So
here I am, putting the perfect word in
a rusty can to drag behind me. I rattle
and clang, and even whisper when I
have to, just hoping you’ll say it again.
I know the curtain was torn
but there is still
this veil
of skin
and bone
that divides
you and me