I had to relearn everything —
how to breathe, how to wake

how to walk a city block
without my little crutch

my hands were awkward birds
for months, flapping around

for something to do.

We practiced endings every day,
another after another

fire to filter, another thing gone,
another thing done and past —

and yet of all the things I’ve ever quit
it’s a your papery kiss I miss

the most.