the cornered animal in your chest wants to rip through flesh and escape. it grows with the pound of the heartbeat. i've seen how grotesque the lamb can grow; how sharp the filed fangs can rip through skin like paper. i know it grows in you as it grows in me. i will not pretend to know how to sooth the beast--but let us pluck a string, sing a song, try to lure it to sleep. let another morning rise above the trees. let another cup of coffee lift a slow steam above the kitchen counter. let me hear you coming down the creaking stairs. i'd do anything to keep you here. to keep your heart rooted firmly in your chest.