I need you 
But I can’t talk right now
I know you understand
Let’s go down to the river
Like a pair of convalescents
Let’s walk slowly toward the gray river
And when we get there
Let’s open our eyes 
Which have been closed for days
And we can regard the gray water 
As it pulls listlessly down toward the bay 
Let the air throw birds around like manuscript pages
Let my pain radiate from me like skin cells sloughing 
Like an automatic process
And as I clasp my hand into yours
Let’s close the emptiness between our palms
And force out the distance
Til there isn’t one