It beats. It hums. My heart—
what else could beat so cold and low
as this : make me a list. give me
a kiss : Kalamazoo, I love you. Paris,
Baghdad, and Beruit, I love you. What more harm
can we inflict than gunfire
on a summer’s day, a winter walk, what life
can we take but ours : for every trigger
that’s pulled, down falls another mother,
another son, and I don’t think you’re ready
for that, I don’t think you’re ready
for what that calls up
in the hearts around the world—but take it.
Pull the trigger. There’s nothing more
I can hide from you, no secret,
no immortality spell, just me
and my skin and my heart
and what’s inside it : I believe
you have the power to stop. So stop.
So choose. Because darling, I love you too.