here

you knew them before you met them
their words
years before
had followed you down to the ocean
where you'd wept
hoping to draw the tide
nearer in.

you hadn't seen them coming and
they sought you out amongst
eyes of thousands
 and they sat with you
and you were pulled in their tide tired eyes
and you knew in the
shared smoke that
this
is where you begin.

and their words leave a ringing in
your ears that's not like anything
you've yet heard -
they are soft
and kind
and strong and
remind you of
when you are entwined
in early morning light
beneath sheets white -

listening for the sound
of their breath on the back
of your neck

and you can't remember a time
when you felt safer
than this -
the quiet minutes in our heart wrenching lives,
when our hearts find
the people
that need to be found.