Devotion

my beloved,

take me into your arms

while I unravel in your quiet,

this life of guilt and salt-stained breath

has little left to hold,

except the moment your warmth

bleaches the grey from my bones.

I ache.

I yearn.

I beg.

let your brightness swallow my shadow,

let your holiness slip beneath my skin

until the weight of this flesh loosens

and the hurt stops naming me.

love me gently,

with the patience of something eternal.

kiss the tremor out of my mouth,

drink my tears like confession,

and rinse the ache from my trembling ribs.

I ache for you.

I yearn for you.

I beg for you.

not as a saint,

not as salvation,

but as the only tenderness left

that I still know how to believe in.