Perhaps all the dragons in our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us act, just once, with beauty and courage. Perhaps everything that frightens us is, in its deepest essence, something helpless that wants our love.
—Rainer Maria Rilke
Damage
I like you because you have bad skin
and I think
maybe you have scars from some childhood trauma
or abuse
and though I’d love to see you naked
to assess the damage
and to explore the distinctions
between
soft and dry
damp and downy
gentle and jagged
I think
I prefer you clothed
cloaked
separated from me by a layer of cloth
a soft, woven skin
and a few thousand miles
