My love, I give you my inner ear,
defective from birth, the right ear in which high notes
vanish, the weak and weary ear, freely
confusing “m” and “n,” the most beloved ear,
a mark of my blood, my childhood, my fear   
of loud noise and the world,  
the inner ear with which I’ll learn to listen to the shadow of your body,
your pleasure, the children who will be flesh within   
the flesh of our love.