The first thing I noticed
and how could I not,
when you came back to me
was your enormous boots.
you came barreling down my stairs
and despite all of the built up words
anchored in my chest,
despite all the mixture of love and doubt
creating their own universe in my head,
despite the unresolved rusting between us,
all i could think was:
"look at those giant boots!"
after we had said everything with eyes and
daring hands,
i decided your boots should leave
because i love you but my mother grew this heart.
but when you kissed me goodnight
the tight laces you had tied
unraveled and opened
the tongues peeled and unfolded,
and in the morning i saw
enormous boots
looking back at me.