silence

I talk to you
As if my tongue skids on ice
The words slip out
Unruly children
No translator by my side
My word birds drop their seeds on barren ground
I stumble and mumble
Wishing I could shake you and say

I CANNOT SPEAK TODAY

I have to sink myself into someone
Like a hot bath
The first touch being too much
Small talk singes my skin
Always too thin
And it takes more time
Than most
To unfurl

But still I talk and talk
In the hope that one day
I will have earned the right
to stay silent