First Breath

The first breath

catches me unaware

the first touch stops—

then gets me started.

The first kiss

I remember,

then every kiss

remembers the first.

The first word said

in the heat of love

tells the first lie.

The last word

tells the truth.

The first love

lives fondly

in the heart,

clothed in the light

of young mornings

when breath was fresh—

or remembered so.

****