For Jake

Most beauty courts us in flashes, momentarily softening shoulders,

as it rests on the surface of our eyes and kindles warmth

in the walls of our bellies for a few, fleeting moments.

You were my introduction to another kind of beauty,

one we hold only a handful of times

but will make her home in our bones.

A beauty who forges grooves as she moves through us

on mission to pierce something deeper, unnameable,

rearranging our insides to pull us out of ourselves—

and into presence.

A beauty who transcends form and hue

to meet us and stretch us

into bolder promises of wonder,

hope,

and love.