on giving

what can I give to you
that is truly self-less,
that doesn't stain my hands,
that doesn't leave its fragrance
in the folds of this heart,
that doesn't chisel this form
into a softness that melts?
that doesn't speak
of a flowering
or a disappearance?
what can I give to you
that is not yours or mine,
something that belongs
to the skin we share,
where you end and I begin?
what can I give you
that doesn't take
a piece of me or you?
where life and death
hold each other
in one melded moment,
in one tight embrace
of a love,
of a joy,
of a celebration,
that must be shared
to be felt?

for when I give something,
you give something away too.