let me say it again, and then 

again softly, so only 

you can hear me,

a lover late at night 

whispering her desires,

until you believe it’s true

this time— 

because somewhere 

you can’t remember,

you heard someone, 

perhaps me,

say the very thing 

that you hear now

but it coheres,

this time,

to what you’ve heard,

like spiders dropping 

one soft strand to another, 

so I whisper again

into your ear

through the dark

tonight

(December 26, 2021)