A summons

I watched you trace
skinny lines of sinew on
your wrists, skinny lines that
made me shiver and wish
for a sensation I could feel.

I listened to you sigh and heard
something small but still
something you
inside the sound, and I almost
stopped wanting your voice.

Surrender, surrender --
if you want to survive
you can't stay alive
you'll lose all your strength that way.