Invitation

I want to connect the freckles on your back
Create unknown constellations
You laugh delightedly when I say this
as though you are uncertain if I am joking

You will come to know- I never joke about adventure

Sail away with me on strange seas
Unfamiliar celestials pricking the water with shine
I can trace the universe upon your skin
Fabricate a star map to venture by
Navigate slowly, relish the discovery

We cannot get lost if we have no destination,
but I have a compass tattooed near the crook of my elbow just in case
You have traced this space with nimble fingers and lips already

As if there are charts between us at night
you study the landscape while I sleep
Taking notes, outlining mountains, memorizing rivers, observing the dance of clouds
Certain I will wake to you muttering longitude and latitude of far off places into my shoulder

Come away with me?
Adventure awaits
and I can already taste the salty air in my mouth



(Written November 4, 2018)

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