I’m sorry I hold you too tightly
That I need you
To envelop me

Growing up our rooms were too small
But we were never made to want anything
At all

Loved ones and animals were always present
Exuberance, quiet and loud love
Were all frequent

And then, a seismic move, a journey
Growing pains, four states, mistrials
Uncertainty

Learning to build in this new environment
Away from every former enjoyment
Loneliness erected a monument

Keep away the loved ones and animals
Make life miserable
Deal me every hardship imaginable

Let me embrace the winter solstice
Let me starve from sparseness
But never let me succumb to hardness
Or the darkness
Give me the fullness

In the small rooms
Where we would commune
And when the animals
Made life more magical

A wise child spoke the truth
“Your name is safe in the mouth
Of someone who loves you”

When you hold me tightly
The small rooms and the animals
Wash over me
So briefly
They return to me

When you hold me tightly
I feel the tsunami
The childhood memory
Love is a small room
Where, in your arms, I’m consumed