hands are these powerful tools
that can create
musical instruments,
and art,
and wipe away tears,
how do you say they are ugly?
It hurts to think
that he did not know at the time,
that not all hands are kind,
and sometimes
they touch places
that are not theirs to touch,
choking the distance between
your breath and body
in every wrong swipe of
thumbs,
palms,
knuckles.
Even when the word
did manage to scrape off of his tongue,
out into the ugly air of stale cig smoke,
they went ignored,
because some peoples alphabet end
at m and pick up again at p.
