for j,

my dear/ my lover/ my sweet/ my babe the mornings are empty without you. sunlight strewn across cold skin. tufts of hair ruffled without the help of your hands. these things serve as empty reminders. a rumpled sweater tucked beneath my pillow, two silver earrings in the catch-all dish on my dresser, and an empty spot on the bed i save for your sometimes silhouette.

in your gaze i feel lovely. i'm learning to see myself the way you see me. you bring me so much delight my lover/ my babe/ my sweet. you fill the empty spaces in my bones; in my heart.