Cradle Me

Cradle me like a coffin.

Like I’m drowning.

Like I’m trying

to wet my dry mouth.

Cradle me like fame.

Like I’m alone every day.

Like I’ve nothing left to say.

Cradle me like time.

Like there are more than months.

Like familial trust funds and bad puns.

Cradle me like a leather belt.

Like a pocketknife.

Like a bottle opener.

Like a past life.

Cradle me like I’ve already left.

Like you’re already bereft.

Like you would be bereft.

Cradle me like love.

Like love can only be paid with love.

Like love only knows love.

Love only sees love.

Only loves love.

Cradle me like your mother couldn’t.

Like testimony, like sacrament.

Like you deserved to be.

Like something ugly.

Cradle me like the womb.

Like I am sat snugly

In your body.

Like my emergence to this world is

catastrophic and bloody.

Cradle me in this moment.

So that you might

in the future

Cradle me like a coffin.