i am sorry it took me so long / to tell you how i feel / it’s just that i’d wanted / to do it justice / do you justice / pressed lip-line smiles / may guard self-consciousness / but placating insecurity is / wholly remedial / when i’d much rather / urge you / to trust me ㅡ
i can cartograph / a sense of humour / worship it like / holy book / “attention is a moral act” / a psychologist says to me / i scribble two rows / of teeth / into the margin ㅡ
(i am always after / a Duchenne smile.)
it doesn’t feel deliberate / learning of a mother tongue / in a split-second i know / you disagree, i.e. ㅡ
brown eyes flicker to upper left corner / whole religions / written in the nuance of your face / the dawn of a critical period / and all that exists is / knowing you / knowing you / knowing you.