I pour the wine and hold the tilt
watch how the want begins to wilt
into a slower, denser bloom
I'm running honey through the room
I lean, I do not bridge the space
I keep a half-inch from your face
my thumb against your wrist, then gone
the leaving's where the heat comes on

the room is tightening its hold
I'm warming what I haven't told
my mouth is at your collarbone
I breathe and let the breath alone
(the breath alone, the breath alone)

I take it slow... that's where I live
a held-back hand has more to give
the want gets warmer when I wait
I'm pouring sweetness on your plate

I take it slow... that's where I live
a held-back hand has more to give
the heat is gathering its brim
I haven't even brushed your skin

I watch you lean... I watch you hold
the want is doing what it's told

my hand goes flat against your spine
I draw a slow uneven line
my mouth is a slow centimeter
I am not soft... I'm something neater
a thumb across the inner wrist
the kind of touch you wouldn't list
I lift, then lower, lift, then ease
I am conducting your release

the pulse is tightening its grip
I let my finger slowly slip
along the seam beneath your jaw
and watch the breath inside you draw

I take it slow... that's where I live
a slower hand has more to give
the want is warmer than the wine
I'm letting time become a line

I take it slow... and watch you wait
a quiet hand can recalibrate
the heat is rising at the rim
I haven't even closed the brim

this isn't distance... it's design
a careful pour along a line
the slow is how I stay myself
and still leave nothing on the shelf
I do not lose me in the heat
I keep my hand... I keep my feet
the tease is not a way to hide
it's how I hold us side by side

I take it slow... that's where I live
a held-back hand has more to give
the want has nowhere it can hide
I'm pouring slow from either side

I take it slow... and that's the gift
a slower current holds the drift
the heat is liquid on the rim
I haven't even let it in