Kisses After Chaos

We had a fight that started over nothing—

a spoon left in the sink,

a look you misread,

My tone doing that thing it does

When I’m tired and pretending I’m not.

﹁﹂

Words turned sharp fast.

Not knives exactly,

more like keys scraped down paint—

ugly, loud, unnecessary.

﹁﹂

Then you came back

with soft eyes and a soft voice,

and my body did what it always does:

It relaxed too soon.

Like a dog that forgives the hand

because it also holds food.

﹁﹂

You kissed me

and called it peace.

I kissed you back

because I wanted the noise to stop.

Because quiet is addictive

when you’ve been living in storms.

﹁﹂

But later, alone in the shower,

I realized I was still flinching

at the memory of your anger,

even while rinsing shampoo.

﹁﹂

Peace shouldn’t be a prize

I win by bleeding politely.

Love shouldn’t feel like

bracing for impact,

then celebrating the moment

Nothing hits.

﹁﹂

I want a gentler kind of mouth.

I want kisses that don’t come

with an apology attached.