sometimes Kali,

Sometimes there’s

No comfort awarded

The sweep of days

Puts grit between my teeth

My persistence in

Breaking through

To open you with love

There is too much within me

Expressions, boyish and earnest

Tripping over my feet

In showing you

So find inference

In how my efforts

Stand up,

The smooth division

Of labour,

How your observations are taken,

Sometimes inside

Sometimes on the chin

Not as martyred sponge

But your tests come from

Your inner divine,

And when you’re beyond

My ability to reach through

And open you to love,

My role is to

Let you weep yourself

To actualisation,

Have you call for me

Sometimes Kali,

Sometimes Venus,

Goddesses who’s names I’ve read

But not pronounced,

And these things

Are tests,

Failure is possible

Graded on standards

Defined by the moment

But there’s a tenacity

Which I’ve relied on

And here, with you,

Rinsing the grit from

My mouth

Kiss you in your kitchen

Before you can speak