cerulean

i aligned our heavily veined palms on

a stormy shoreline varnished with sand;

i fastened you with a nickname

and nervously squeezed your hand.

then i breathed in deeply,

shards of ocean and land-

but, when i was ready,

i began:

i was born into this world

twenty-nine shades of violent blue;

those exact same shades

i’ve seen inked on you.

i know what it’s like for the world to give up on you before you ever had a chance...

my first few breaths on this earth

were an electric, ice-cold,

forceful trance.

life suffocated me early and

caught up to you later.

cerulean boy,

i’ll be your ventilator.