“I lay in the tub with blades and blood;

 and there they found me”, he said.                            

This man, this man whom I have loved.

His pain.  It is now apart of my pain.

His glistening blue eyes stare back and I see understanding.

(Caught that glimpse of recognition, during the confession

 of my own dark sorrows.)

I know him well.

I feel his unbearable pain

everytime his reflective eyes look into mine.

(My previous retreat is his causal pain.)

I accept it as my own now.

Love that cushions, binds and bundles

is all he has ever offered.

Do I take it now? Is that my price to be paid?

He lays his head in my lap,

his brilliant pools of pure water looking inside me

and I sigh loudly, echoing his thoughts.

I know he waits for an answer.

Copyright 2014 T.L. Burton