tenderness

I would elope with this beauty in a heartbeat

Fly ‘em up to the moon and slip into its crescent as if under a blanket,

Content to lie there, bodies in arms and temperature-perfect,

Resting in peak, blushéd joy for the rest of our lives.

Instead I hold their face in my hands and kiss it softly, all over,

Content enough knowing that, barring any apocalyptic reason to jump the broom before sharing a home, 

I get to savor this time.

This time is all ours.