Verse: Gifts

First it was
your fingerprints

I wore them
everywhere

they made
quite an impression

and when
the rain claimed them

you gave me
an embrace

I wore it like
a coat

until it became
threadbare

and when
the wind claimed that

you gave me
a kiss

the hard consonant
of the word pierced my lips

soon soothed by
a soft hiss

it melted
like ice

so you gave me
another

when snow
sought to claim it

you gave me a home
where there is no weather

do you know that
I have not seen winter

since I first laid eyes
on you?