"Sex has a way of softening limbs,
oiling joints and melding hearts.

We burrow in closer
wrapping arms and legs over and under each other.

Earthly blanket of sleep covers us two bodies releasing one breath.

Finding home,
coiled and tucked in each other’s sweat."

-Wendy Lee

I feel compelled to say something about having sex even when your relationship feels like it doesn’t quite deserve it. I am happily married, mostly, but, it is work and sometimes when the tension builds, and there is not enough time or resources, or worse still, not enough recognition or kindness to go around. It is truly a stretch to want to think of opening myself up to the deepest part of me.

This poem reminds me of the truth that I can often remember to tell others, but sometimes forget for myself. That the time that I feel most hardened and separate from my husband is the time when the soothing salve of a night in our bed can make the most difference. So I make myself remember what it feels like to be held from deep inside and I let my imagination roam a little. Just far enough
to imagine that the places keeping me separate from him are just a short walk… not nearly a whole universe away, it’s close to home.