Explore Me Poem by Grayson Valenti

like your hands are tracing
a map of the sky
and the many freckles upon my skin
are constellations

Traverse my planes
and delve into the subtle
curve of my frame
because it’s all yours

And even if it weren't
and if I were alone
I would give no heed
to thoughts of lovers past
because now it is only you
even if it’s only me

Look upon my scars
and mistake them not for congenital hatred
but take them as sacrifices of a battle
draped in impenetrable fog that
I fought with myself
until I met you

Inspect my fingertips
calloused and yet smooth
with the artwork of this day
and the recollections of
last night

When I played your
hair into passionate braids
like I would my violin
and my bow hand cramped up mid-braid
and we laughed

Because even if my pinkies
sometimes get stuck straight
as a result of playing the piano too much
you still find it charming that I can
in fact
braid your hair

Burrow yourself into my gut
and watch as all of the butterflies held within
flutter and scatter in all directions
because they can finally see why
they’re in my belly in the first place

But please don’t question
why there are so many
because I’ll blush and stutter and
I ask that you instead
pay more attention to their colors and patterns
because they are all born of my love for you
and they are all beautiful
but you are more so

And when you finish your tour
of my epidermal shield
strip it away and forget it
ever existed