sun stripes on a dark night

I used to savor those moments,
side by side as the morning waned,
casting a silhouette of the wooden blinds
across your back. My eyes tracing the stripes
of shadow and sunlight
remind me that opposites are nothing without each other.

I wanted to preserve every second; hoarding them
in every space I could find between my cells like a thick, sweet syrup
waiting for it’s time to coat the tastebuds of
the next victim of indulgence, for nights
like these when I can feel the cool air scraping
against my shoulders once shielded by you, I tap into my roots coursing with
these stores I amassed when I counted
every freckle on your body between the shadows
of the pale morning sun.