I See You

I See You

You stand so still
Before me.

My hand stretches

Toward your face.

Lightly

Slowly

I trace my fingertips
Down
From your hairline
Brow
Over your closed eyelids
Down
The flaring of your nostrils
The valley between your lips
Down
Your chin
To your throat
Ending in the hollow
At the base of your neck.

I take much time
Gathering your contours
The way snow lightly falls
Pooling in secret corners. 

I see you

Requires no vocabulary
Save that of my fingers
Navigating your face
Assuring you are forever mapped
Known
Understood.

I see you.