Cradle me, let your arms
be a touchpoint, take me back
to where I don’t remember
but feel like I could —

This holding that shows me
that I am beloved,
my perfect belonging
wholly assured

(If there is one body
then there is one touch
that all of us yearn for
and each one can give)

No need to settle
for that which is partial,
provisional, grudging,
for sometime acceptance

Let this touch assure you, too,
that you have always
been welcome here.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 14, 2018