Traditional

All day 

I have been pondering the strangeness

of separating the image from the self

and wondering how desire 

could be projected

onto the two-dimensional surface

but not the body that breathes. 

If the person is the danger

then they are the one

that should be put in the box 

and kept from the interactions 

of the day to day

to prevent accidents.

And I thought of all the ways

that I trust myself to lean into temptation 

without toppling into the void

because my faith-keeping

is for me and my own dignity

alone and not because of what I owe 

to anyone else. 

And then I understood

that you were saying 

I trust my belovèd to guard my honor

and that is a tradition

that I can get behind because

we all need our passions 

to lie somewhere safe.