We say each other’s names.
—Luisa A. Igloria, “Inhabiting“
that now we can say each other’s names
without shame without yesterday’s shadows
—incognito glasses off!—
without a glance over one’s shoulder
to check if a nosy someone is eavesdropping
that now we can swim into, and naturally claim,
each other’s space without feeling crowded
that now we’ve learned not to outpace
one another but to walk in an unhurried
step by step to somewhere or nowhere
that now we can breathe each other’s scent
and hold on to it with our tongues
absolutely
and most certainly
now we can