Ask Me In December

Ask me in December

If I love you

And I will close my eyes and smile

I will take my time before I speak

I will breathe you in like a candle of pine

And I will huff you out in a long, warm breath

And as you watch the sight of you leave my lips

And curl above us in the frigid air

That will be your answer

-

Ask me in December

If I love you

And I will laugh against the thick fabric

Of the woolen brown scarf you gave me

Wrapped tight around my neck like a noose

Clinging to me like a lifelong promise

Warm and soft like a lover’s arms

And the clouds in gray sky above our bodies

Will move so slowly, so immeasurably

Like the heave of my chest

And the heave of yours

And they will open up for you

To show you my answer

-

Ask me again this December

If I love you

You won’t like the ice of my fingers

Hard and cold

Their tips kissed by Khione

As they press into your arm to rob you of heat

Glacial shockwaves biting bare skin

As my freezing fingers seep into you like water

Like the snow sinking under your boots and mine

I make my gentle, slow descent into you

As I tell you my answer

-

Ask me again this December

If I love you

Yes, I will say

For now and forever