Give Yourself / Grace

she gave me a poem on Valentine's Day
about watching me walk among the dead
bought me my first coconut champagne from Gray's Papaya,
the flakes tickling my tongue through the straw
she gave the wickedest gasp when my teeth met her neck
and sent me a picture of the mark I left, smirking
she laughed when I asked her where her mom kept the ice cream scoop
what do we need besides spoons?

she wore a mesh-backed shirt to the water gun fight
gave me chills when my eyes couldn't leave the channel of her spine
and I had to figure out what the hell that meant
she picked the boy-est action movies just to blast her laugh
at Karl Urban grunting his too-serious lines

give yourself grace, say the posts and tweets and self-help lists
while sirens carve their wails down the desolate street
give yourself the whole pint, the gallon laughs
the muscle and skin that is thirst and its own deep drink
take it in gulps, and with her sly consent, take a bite
of that laughing throat, viciously alive