I pour the wine and hold the tilt

watch how the want begins to wilt

into a slower, denser bloom

I'm running honey through the room

I lean, I do not bridge the space

I keep a half-inch from your face

my thumb against your wrist, then gone

the leaving's where the heat comes on

the room is tightening its hold

I'm warming what I haven't told

my mouth is at your collarbone

I breathe and let the breath alone

(the breath alone, the breath alone)

I take it slow... that's where I live

a held-back hand has more to give

the want gets warmer when I wait

I'm pouring sweetness on your plate

I take it slow... that's where I live

a held-back hand has more to give

the heat is gathering its brim

I haven't even brushed your skin

I watch you lean... I watch you hold

the want is doing what it's told

my hand goes flat against your spine

I draw a slow uneven line

my mouth is a slow centimeter

I am not soft... I'm something neater

a thumb across the inner wrist

the kind of touch you wouldn't list

I lift, then lower, lift, then ease

I am conducting your release

the pulse is tightening its grip

I let my finger slowly slip

along the seam beneath your jaw

and watch the breath inside you draw

I take it slow... that's where I live

a slower hand has more to give

the want is warmer than the wine

I'm letting time become a line

I take it slow... and watch you wait

a quiet hand can recalibrate

the heat is rising at the rim

I haven't even closed the brim

this isn't distance... it's design

a careful pour along a line

the slow is how I stay myself

and still leave nothing on the shelf

I do not lose me in the heat

I keep my hand... I keep my feet

the tease is not a way to hide

it's how I hold us side by side

I take it slow... that's where I live

a held-back hand has more to give

the want has nowhere it can hide

I'm pouring slow from either side

I take it slow... and that's the gift

a slower current holds the drift

the heat is liquid on the rim

I haven't even let it in