tenderness

sometimes
she would bear down on my mouth
so hard
i was afraid that between my teeth
and her pubic bone
my lips would be black & blue
and those times, the bearing down times
were when she was the closest to coming
and so
i was inclined to suffer bravely

one time
after she came and came
a puddle of her pussy and sweat
on my chest, shoulders, neck, chin, cheeks and so forth
my tongue tingled in
tiny electric shocks and
my lips were swollen and red
for hours afterwards

this was not distressing
no

one time
after she'd gotten off at the edge of the bed
and then again riding my mouth
and after i'd come while she fucked me
after all that
we curled together naked under the sheet
and without words
slowly caressed each other
one-handedly, closed eyes
matching speeds and pressures
while i was running my fingers through her hair
around to her neckline
along her jaw
she might have been skimming along my waist, my upwards pointing hip
that one time
after what might have been 10 minutes
or might have been 40
her hand slowly came to a stop
and i realized she had drifted off to sleep
which meant that now i had to not drift off myself
lest we both slip deeply into slumber
and awaken a dangerous hour or more later
and yet
and yet
i felt my self gently sinking
following her
always
and it was not within me to protest
in fact, it was so very dearly sweet
let me tell you
slipping slow and steady
into that glowing, dreamy twilight
pressed against each other
around each other
for us, with our narrow opportunities
such tenderness, though often craved
is not often afforded
this slipping off together
twined together
dreaming together
soothed a deep, way-back-in-time part of my soul

epilogue: we awoke in time & made it home without incident