stay (pegasus)

in the morning
i wake
just before you
i am slow
my eyelids are fat
reluctant to yawn open

before anything else
comes the heady perfume
from your neck
and your hair
and your shoulders
and before i can think
of what it means
i am welling with joy
that you stayed

i open my eyes
i see the lines
of your shoulders
on your porcelain back
as you lay in repose
like a mythical creature
a she-dragon
a tigress
and innocence
revealed
as you slumber
your powerful secret
known only to me

i listen a while
as you quietly breathe
then a moment comes
where i find
and become
your heartbeat
and then i begin
my incantation

stay

stay with me, love
i whisper
into your ear

and slowly i trace
on your porcelain back
with quivering fingers
an ancient symbol
in invisible henna
a rune
of my making
to protect you, my love
my angel
to keep you from harm
you are safe
with me here
but also it prays:

stay