I have finished with your body. br br It becomes a new territory br I am not permitted to explore. br br The swishing of the rain captures br my attention; I bask in its br wetness, in its forgetting. br br Yet remembering. br br A dash of salt on an apple. br A bit of soy sauce on the fish. br br Gestures of life and silence. br br The press of the pen upon paper. br br I am without ability to shape the br desire that once consumed, the br roped knots that held promise. br br The spices that added br meaning to my life. br br I trace my finger in the dust br on the table. A world vanishes br under my hands. Streaks of br brokenness, of curling lips br hurtling venom. br br I caress the flowers that I br planted in the spring. Now they br bloom in ever amazing vibrancy. br br And then you appear beside me. br The flesh does not recognize br the flesh. The mind does not br appreciate the thinking. br br So we embrace our darkness, br our forgetting. br br Yet remembering to share br a discussion on the br dissolving, the rejecting. br br I have finished with your body. br br I give it back to you. It is not br mine to love anymorebr br Chris G.