November 8, 1998

Layers

One thick
Maybe two
Transparent
Or not
Slipping and failing
Slipping and glad for thickness
Giving selflessly to get nothing
Appreciated nonetheless
Push and pull and say you're welcome
Bend and stretch and give relief
Truth in advertising
Bubbling up to the surface
And why not tonight
I know too well

Sliding away,
Placid and churning
And three layers thick
With holes wide and deep
And impassable
How easily we forget

From here, devotion
From there, concern
And hope for bitten lips
Four layers below this skin.