Beloved

your breath
puffs out of you
a cloud of witnesses
to the inner workings
the in and out
of your precious lungs

created as you are
cracked skin and crooked smile
for me or some other
to find a home
behind the left corner
of your heart

can you blame a girl for dreaming?
lost in her own twistings
turned round
and crouched beneath

we can all still smell the good
cursed and oozing
from our perches
high on cliffs