you're just a stranger I know everything about.
we don't talk anymore. and yet
if you told me you were in hell
no matter the reason
I would do anything to pull you from the flames.

when they apprehended Jesus,
they asked Judas to identify him
and he did so with a kiss.

and when salmon lay to die,
they do so in the stream they were born into,
always finding their way back home.

if love could save you,
you would live forever.
strung up on a cross, yes, but still breathing.
I would sit right there next to you
for all eternity.
constantly loving.
we still wouldn't talk.

but when you hurt
I ache.
and when you look at me,
I can no longer remember
who drew the first blood.

I know the sound of your breathing.
I could see the freckle on your cheek
bathed in stained-glass sunlight
from the other end of the chapel.
in another life, we would've both held a ring.