Mirror

Want to hold you
until those shivers peter out,
until violence is erased,
a blank slate -
like your torso,
unmarked,  
want to lick
the cause of those shivers
as water - pooled,
naval, basin,  
their changed form,
your changed form
radiating heat beneath oceans,  
sensations induced become
a prayer, the nails
that bite deep enough
to taunt a balance
between pleasure
and fear,
I can unpick the fear
the nick on your neck,
the kink left in your hair,
venom in an eye
barely anyone saw,
the ask you can't claim,
smoke between teeth
until we soften,
that ache rising in air,
clouds - ready for rain -  
See, all I want is to hold you
as you unsound the alarm,  
gently unfreeze.