gather them & give them back to me (2022)
Renia White
(after Toni Morrison)
I don't have the wherewithal to die today,
not with you here. (thank you for that)
you say things could be simple, and sometimes
they are. it's true, we only need what we need
in order to have all we need. nothing more,
but love, which is a texture you say you don't
understand. but look at this bread in my mouth
and your hand in mine although we barely touch
because how outlandish—to feel even further? beyond
the sure blessing? so your hand isn't in mine, but I feel
it there—when I am asleep, awake, inside my mind room.
I touch everything I walk by or into. but, you here?
and us with hands in case we need them? I think this is it,
but if you want to make it more complicated, I agree.