Our small Hands Ache to be Held²
What’s left to learn is how to press
Palm to Palm – and Not Want more³
The Hands Clutch Together: a Perfect Fit⁴
Instead of Arms to hold you I want Longer
Limbs, Vines, to wrap you Twofold, Threefold⁵
He Clasps her Tightly, and Feels his Separateness
Dissolve into Hers, the Skins Confluent & Melting⁶
We Hold each other so Fiercely, so Dearly –
That we don’t know anything but each other⁷
Pressure on the Palms of the hands effects
A Transference of souls: the Interlinking
Of Fingers symbolizes every Intimacy⁸
Imparadised in One Another’s Arms⁹
The Strength we Gain is
Th’ Embrace we Give¹⁰
¹ John Donne, The Ecstacy
² José Olivarez, Home Court
³ Jeff Mann, Blue Ridge Heating and Air
⁴ Naomi Shihab Nye, Mothers Waiting for Their Sons
⁵ Denise Levertov, The Mourner
⁶ Primo Levi tr. Raymond Rosenthal, Through the Walls
⁷ Ursula K. Le Guin, Tehanu
⁸ Philip Roth, American Pastoral
⁹ John Milton, Paradise Lost
¹⁰ Alexander Pope, Epistle III