Don’t cease, my darling; maintain
your pulse unchanging.

When you falter, recall that age
is not your master,

any more than time has ever yet
mastered me.

Sit with me as I grow older:
let my hand caress

your gentle scales, as months are tallied
by your organs and your veins.

My life’s clock is tucked tenderly
within your breast,

where I stored it once
to loan my time to your survival.

I listen now
as its ticking slows.

I have brought you back to life before,

but I have so little
of my living left to give.