On Paper

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Objective eyes

What they see is dead and stale

Like the flat Earth or diamond stars or the seas of the moon

My eyes lift you from the vellum void

My lips inflate you with my breath

My heart forces blood into your veins

I scribe words upon your flesh

And speak in synergy and concert with my hands

They see mere marks upon a page

They do not feel volcanic heat or inner calm

They cannot listen, shiver or gasp at your voice

They cannot read the readiness in your eyes

As you greet me in the rain

They cannot write my desire

Their happy middling ground is but a bland review

Trapped in words flat upon the page

On paper how do you catch the sea?

Jealous fools may only try

Where we succeed

On Paper - The Courage of Intimacy by Keith Ainsworth                                                                                                                                                                          15